"     n 

ggas;is;ittiau;(;mjt^/jfi;ff;ii[^^ 

— ^ 

:-: 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^K^a^i^lp 

1 

ttOZIEfl 


^^^^^^^^^^^K ' 

^^^^^^^^^^B^ 

^^^^m 

^^^^^^^^B<- 

^^^B' 

^^^^^^^^^^K 
^^^^^^^^^K) 

^^^^^^^^B 

^^H; 

^^^^^^^g. 

^^^^^^^^^^mB 

^^^^^^^^^Rj 

■ 

H 

^^^^B^ 

^^^^^B 

^^^^^^^^^^K^. ' 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^K '■ 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^K* 

^^^^^^^K 

^^^^^^^K 

^^^^^^^^■P' 

LIBRARY 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

SANTA  BARBARA 


PRESENTED  BY 
ERIC  SCHMIDT 


^'6ot\'\ 


Digitized  by  tine  Internet  Arciiive 

in  2007  witii  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/exercisesinengliOOmoziiala 


EXERCISES   IN 

ENGLISH  COMPOSITION 


BY 

WILLIAM  F.,^OZIER 
PRINCIPAL  OF  THE  OTTAWA  TOWNSHIP  HIGH  SCHOOL 


FAIR  OEALCn  PRINT 
OTTAWA,  (I.L. 


Copyright  1909 
byW.  F.  MOZIER. 


ENGLISH  COMPOSITION. 


Lesson  L—The  Same  Old  Story. 

students  who  have  reached  the  high  school  have  already  spent 
much  time  in  the  study  of  the  English  language.  They  have  studied 
English  grammar  for  several  years,  and  have  had  their  grammatical 
errors  pointed  out  to  them  again  and  again.  They  have  been 
taught  spelling,  punctuation,  sentence  structure,  and  paragraphing, 
and  have  written  iimumerable  specimens  of  narration  and  de- 
scription, not  to  mention  exposition  and  argumentation.  In  short, 
they  consider  "English  Composition"  an  old  story;  yet  too  often 
we  find  them  well  on  their  way  through  the  high  school  course  or 
even  graduated  from  the  school,  making  the  same  old  mistakes 
and  exhibiting  the  same  old  weaknesses,  in  both  oral  and  written 
composition. 

Why  is  this?  Is  the  English  language  so  difficult  a  means  of 
expressing  thought  that  young  people  cannot  master  it?  Certainly 
not.     The  trouble  is  due,  in  the  main,  to  the  following  two  causes: 

1.  The  language  that  is  commonly  heard  outside  the  school 
room  is  far  from  being  either  careful  or  correct  EJnglish.  Children 
unconsciously  imitate  the  speech  that  they  hear  around  them,  and 
by  constant  repetition,  form  bad  habits  of  language  that  even  the 
persistent  training  of  the  school  can  hardly  overcome. 

2.  Pupils  think  that  English,  because  it  is  their  native  language, 
is  easy  and  requires  little  or  no  study.  They  therefore  do  not 
apply  themselves  diligently  to  their  English  work,  and  so  neglect 
that  drill  and  constant  guarding  of  themselves  that  are  necessary 
to  the  overcoming  of  bad  habits  of  every  kind. 

Surely,  nothing  is  more  an  evidence  of  reflpement  and  more 
"worth  while"  than  to  speak  one's  own  language  in  a  correct  and 
pleasing  way.  Many  a  man,  otherwise  very  worthy,  has  condemned 
himself  in  the  opinion  of  others  by  faulty  speech.  It  is  entirely 
inexcusable  for  a  high  school  student  to  say  "have  went",  "I  seen", 
or  "I  done".  It  is  not  necessary  for  him  to  correct  older  people 
when  they  say  these  things — they  may  not  have  had  his  advantages 
— but  it  is  necessary  for  him  to  correct  himself. 


4  ENGLISH  COMPOSITION. 

Now,  the  way  to  overcome  bad  habits  it  (1)  to  quit  the  habits; 
(2)  to  substitute  good  habits  in  their  places;  (3)  to  cultivate  with 
all  one's  might  the  new  good  habits,  until  through  constant  repeti- 
tion and  practice  they  become  as  firmly  fixed  as  the  bad  habits  were 
before. 

Suppose,  then,  that  we  make  a  determined  and  successful  effort 
this  year  (1)  to  correct  all  our  old-time  errors  of  everyday  speech 
and  writing;  and  (2)  to  acquire  considerable  skill  and  ease  in  . 
writing  simple  themes  in  a  clear,  well-connected,  and  pleasing 
style,  so  that  composition  may  not  be  for  us  a  difficult  and  confusing, 
process,  but  a  pleasure  to  ourselves  and  to  others.  To  help  along 
a  little  in  this  effort  is  the  purpose  for  which  these  exercises  were 
prepared. 

ERRORS   IN   GRAMMAR. 

Errors  in  grammar  are  called  Solecisms.  But  no  matter  what 
they  are  called,  they  must  be  absolutely  rooted  out  of  the  speech 
of  a  person  who  wants  to  be  considered  well  educated.  We  shall 
therefore  begin  our  work  with  a  little  effort  at  correcting  some  of 
the  more  common  solecisms.  These  have  been  pointed  out  to  us 
a  hundred  times,  but  still  the  old  demon  Habit  grips  many  of  us, 
and  the  wrong  word  will  slip  out  In  ungi;.arded  moments,  even 
though  we  know  better. 

If  one  were  asked  to  pick  out  the  half  dozen  most  startling  and 
heart-rending  errors  in  the  grammar  of  everyday  speech,  doubtless 
one  could  safely  choose  the  following  as  winning  first  prize: 

a.  Using  the  objective  for  the  nominative  form  of  the  pronoun, 
when  the  subject  is  compound;  as,  "Her  and  I  are  going  together" 
for  "She  and  I";  "Him  and  me  are  in  the  same  class"  for  "He  and 
I."  Nobody  would  think  of  saying  "Her  is  going"  or  "  Him  is  in 
the  same  class";  yet  there  is  no  more  reason  for  using  such  forms 
when  they  are  compounded  than  when  they  are  alone.  If  you  are 
ever  in  doubt,  drop  one  of  the  pronouns  and  see  what  form  should 
be  used  when  the  pronoun  stands  alone;  the  same  form  should  be 
used  when  the  pronoun  is  compounded  with  another. 

Supply  in  the  blanks  the  correct  form  of  any  pronoun  you 
choose  except  "you":  1.  —  and  —  ate  a  whole  pie.  2.  —  and  I 
were  the  only  ones  who  passed. 

b.  Using  the  double  negative  to  den/;  as,  "There  isn't  nobody 
here"  for  "There  Isn't  anybody  here".  Never  use  the  double 
negative  when  you  mean  to  deny.  If  you  have  already  used  a 
negative  in  the  sentence,  use  "any",  "anything",  or  "anybody", 
following  it,  not  "no",  "nothing",  or  "nobody". 


ENGLISH  COMPOSITION.  t 

Suppiy  in  the  blanks  the  right  form:  1.  I  haven't  (got)  — 
clothes  to  wear.  ("Got"  may  be  used  In  conversation,  though  not 
in  writing.    However,  it  is  better  to  omit  it.)     2.    She  didn't  win 

—  prize.     3.    You'  haven't  (got)  —  right  to  interfere  in  the  game, 

—  more  than  I  have.  1.  It  isn't  (of)  —  use  to  tell  him.  5.  It 
isn't  going  to  make  —  noise.  6.  It  isn't  —  such  thing.  7.  It  isn't 
(of)  —  use  trying.  8.  There  isn't  —  the  matter  with  you. 
i).    I  haven't  (got)  —  to  do. 

c.  The  use  of  "seen"  for  "saw"  in  the  past  tense;  as,  "I  seen 
him  just  a  minute  ago"  for  "I  saw  him". 

Supply  the  right  form:  1.  What  do  you  think  I  —  in  the 
hall  just  now?  2.  The  teacher  —  me  doing  It,  so  I  stopped. 
3.    You  needn't  hide  your  hand,  I  —  what  you  had. 

d.  The  use  of  "done"  for  "did"  In  the  past  tense;  as,  "He  done 
me  a  good  turn"  for  "He  did". 

Supply  the  right  form:  1.  I  —  as  well  as  I  could.  2.  He  — 
a  poor  piece  of  work  on  that  house.  3.  I'll  tell  you  wliat  I  —  this 
morning. 

e.  The  use  of  "have  went"  for  "have  gone";  as,  "You  ought 
to  have  went  with  us"  for  'Tou  ought  to  have  gone". 

Supply  the  right  form:  1.  I  know  I  oughtn't  to  have  —  to  the 
circus.  2.  John  has  just  —  out  of  the  room.  3.  The  team  has 
already  —  to  the  park. 

f.  The  use  of  "good"  for  "well";  as,  "The  orchestra  played 
good"  for  "played  well".  The  test  is  always  as  follows:  If  the  verb 
indicates  action,  use  "well",  not  "good". 

Supply  "good"  or  "well":  1.  I  didn't  sleep  very  —  last  night. 
2.  I  didn't  play  at  all  —  in  today's  game.  3.  Your  coat  fits  you 
pretty  — ,  doesn't  It? 

"Well"  is  sometimes  an  adjective  meaning  "In  good  health"; 
it  should  be  used  in  this  sense  after  the  verb  "feel".  Instead  of 
"good".  "Well"  should  also  be  used  with  the  verb  "look"  in  the 
idiomatic  expression  "look  well".  The  following  is  the  correct 
usage:  "He  feels  well  and  he  looks  well,  because  he  sleeps  well.'- 
'That  picture  looks  well  in  that  place." 

Exercises. 

Write  four  sentences  illustrating  each  of  the  six  cases  just 
discussed.    (Twenty-four  sentences  in  all). 


i  ENGLISH  COMPOSITION. 

Lesson  II, 

Tell  or  write  an  account  of  some  incident  or  experience  of 
your  summer  vacation,  introducing  several  examples  of  the  correct 
usage  of  the  forms  discussed  in  Lesson  I. 

Lesson  Ill.-Some  More  Pitfalls  of  Grammar, 

Though  the  errors  in  Lesson  I  are  perhaps  the  most  shocking, 
still  no  educated  person  should  permit  himself  to  fall  into  the 
following  bad  usages: 

a.  The  use  of  "don't",  for  "doesn't",  with  "he",  "she",  or  "it" 
as  the  subject;  as,  "He  don't  study  his  lessons",  for  "He  doesn't 
study".  If  you!  are  in  doubt,  expand  the  contracted  form;  as,  "It 
doesn't  (does  not)  make  any  difference".  Not  even  those  who  say 
"It  don't"  would  think  of  saying  "It  do  not";  yet  "don't"  means 
"do  not". 

Supply  "doesn't"  or  "don't": .  1.  She  says  she  —  care,  so  I  — 
care  either.  2.  Why  —  he  come;  it's  late.  3.  The  book  —  say 
anything  about  it. 

b.  Singular  for  plural  number  of  the  verb,  especially  with  a 
compound  subject,  or  when  the  sentence  is  introduced  by  'Hhere", 
or  with  "you"  as  subject;  as,  "There  was  a  dog  and  a  cat  in  the 
house",  for  "There  were".  "Where  was  you  all  the  time",  for 
"Where  were  you". 

Supply  the  right  form  of  the  verb  "to  be":  1.  An  old  man 
and  his  son  —  coming  down  the  street.  2.  I  thought  there  —  more 
apples  in  the  dish.  3.  What  —  you  doing  in  the  assembly  room? 
4.     There  — n't  any  more  girls  to  go. 

c.  Plural  verb  or  pronoun  for  the  singular,  when  the  subject 
is  "every",  or  "each",  or  a  compound  of  any  of  these  words;  as,  "Let 
everyone  study  their  lessons",  for  "his  lesson".  "Each  of  the  boys 
are  expected  to  play",  for  "is  expected". 

Supply  the  right  form:  1.  Every  one  of  the  girls  —  invited  to 
bring  —  mother (s).  2.  If  every  one  will  get  out  —  note  book,  — 
will  see  the  note  on  page  6.  3.  Has  everybody  brought  —  book 
to  the  class? 

d.  Nominative  form  of  the  pronoun  for  the  objective,  when 
the  pronouns  are  joined  by  "and"  or  "or"  after  verbs  and  preposi- 


ENGLISH  COMPOSITION.  1 

tions;  as,  "Between  you  and  I",  for  "Between  you  and  me". 
"Mother  spoke  to  you  and  he",  for  "you  and  him".  This  error 
arises  no  doubt  from  trying  to  avoid  the  error  of  Lesson  I  (a). 
Knowing  that  the  combination  "him  and  me"  is  wrong  when  used 
as  subject,  pupils  think  it  is  always  wrong.  This,  of  course,  is  a 
mistake;  when  used  as  object  "him  and  me"  is  the  correct  form. 
The  test  here  is  to  drop  out  one  of  the  pronouns;  whatever  is  the 
right  form  for  one  pronoun  used  alone  is  right  for  the  two  used 
together. 

Supply    the    correct    forms,    using    any    pronoun    but    "you"; 

1.  Mother  gave  the  book  to  Brother  and  — .  2.  Father  wants 
you  and  —  to  come  home  early.  3.  John  and  Mary  own  the  pony 
together;  their  uncle  gave  it  to  both  —  and  — . 

e.  "Lay"  for  "lie",  "laying"  for  "lying",  "laid"  for  "lay"  or 
"lain";  as,  "Lay  down,  Carlo",  for  "Lie  down,  Carlo".  "The  book  is 
laying  on  the  shelf"  for  "is  lying  on  the  shelf".  This  is  a  common, 
but  very  unrefined  form  of  error,  and  one  who  is  liable  to  it  should 
make  every  effort  to  avoid  it.  "Lie"  and  its  forms  (lay,  lain)  take 
no  object  after  them.  "Lay"  and  its  forms  (laid,  laid)  alwaya 
take  an  object.  Never  use  the  forms  "laying",  "is  laying",  or  "laid" 
without  an  object,  and  remember  that  "down"  is  an  adverb,  not 
an  object.  If  you  mean  "did  lie",  use  "lay"  or  "was  lying",  not 
"laid". 

Supply  the  right  form:  1.  We  —  down  to  sleep  where  the 
campers  had  —  the  night  before.  2.  Let's  —  down  here.  3.  Sh-h, 
—  down,  I  see  a  bear.  4.  Gyp  is  — ing  before  the  fire;  let  him  — 
there,  poor  fellow;  I  have  —  a  rug  on  the  floor  for  him  to  —  on. 

f.  "Set"  for  "sit"  or  "sat";  as,  "Let's  set  down",  for  "Let's  sit 
down.'.  "Set"  and  its  forms  (set,  set)  require  an  object;  "sit"  and 
its  forms  (sat,  sat)  do  not.  Never  use  "set",  except  in  the  case 
of  the  sun,  without  an  object. 

Supply  the  right  form:    1.    How  long  have  you  been — Ing  here? 

2.  He  —  on  the  rock  all  day  fishing.  3.  —  the  bowl  on  the  table. 
4.  It  is  already  — ing  there.  5.  Your  new  coat  doesn't  —  well 
on  your  shoulders. 

g.  "Raise"  for  "rise",  and  "raised"  for  "rose"  or  "risen",  as, 
"The  river  has  raised  over  night",  for  "has  risen".  A  very  common 
error,  "Raise"  and  its  forms  (raised,  raised)  always  require  an 
object.    If  there  is  no  object,  use  rise,  rose,  or  risen. 

Supply  the  right  form:  1.  I  believe  the  water  —  a  foot  today. 
2.  The  frost  has  —  the  walk.  3.  The  bread  won't  — .  4'.  See, 
how  the  river  has  — . 


\ 


a  ENGLISH  COMPOSITIOlSf. 

h.  "Come"  for  "came"  and  "run"  for  "ran",  in  the  past  tense; 
as,  "He  come  to  town  and  run  all  the  way",  for  "He  came  and  ran". 

Supply  the  right  form:  1.  I  just  —  in  a  minute  ago.  2.  He 
—  the  car  at  full  speed  as  he  —  round  the  comer. 

I.  "Will"  for  "shall"  and  "would"  for  "should",  with  subjects 
"I"  or  "we"  when  mere  prediotion  is  intended;  as,  "I  know  I  will 
be  ill",  for  "I  shall  be".  Do  not  say  "I,  or  we,  will  or  would"  unless 
you  mean  to  promise  or  to  state  your  determination.  If  the  action 
is  beyond  your  control,  use  "shall  or  should"  with  "I"  or  "we". 
Always  use  "I  or  we  shall  or  should"  before  "be  glad",  "be  pleased", 
"be  obliged",  "appreciate",  "be  sorry",  "regret". 

Supply  the  right  form:  1.  I  fear  I  —  be  late.  2.  If  I  don't 
study  harder,  I  —  fail  in  my  examinations.  3.  I  —  be  pleased  to 
meet  your  friend  when  he  calls.  4.  If  you  would  come,  I  —  be 
very  much  obliged  and  —  appreciate  it  as  a  favor. 

j.  Use  of  the  adjective  for  the  adverb  with  verbs  of  action; 
as,  "You  did  fine",  for  "You  did  finely".  Adjectives  most  often  thus 
misused  are  "regular",  "steady",  "easy",  "beautiful",  "fine",  "grand", 
"swift",  for  "regularly",  "steadily",  "easily",  "beautifully",  "finely", 
etc. 

Supply  the  right  form  of — 1.  "Steady."  It  rained  —  all  day. 
2.  "Easy".  He  gets  his  lesson  so  — .  3.  "Regular".  He  goes  to 
church  pretty  —  now.  4.  "Rapid."  The  car  went  by  so  —  that 
I  couldn't  tell  the  number.  5.  "Fine".  How  are  you  getting  along? 
— .  If  the  verb  is  a  verb  indicating  action,  you  must  always  use 
the  form  in  "ly". 

k.  "Those"  or  "these"  "sort"  or  "kind",  for  "that"  or  "this" 
"sort";  as,  "I  don't  like  those  kind  of  peaches",  for  "that  kind". 
"Kind"  and  "sort"  are  singular  and  require  a  sing;ular  adjective. 

Supply  the  right  form:  1.  I  dislike  —  kind  of  problems. 
2.    —  sort  of  people  weary  me. 

1.  "Like"  for  "as";  introducing  a  clause;  as,  "You  don't  do  it 
like  I  do",  for  "You  don't  do  it  as  I  do".  "Like"  governs  a  single 
word  and  should  not  be  followed  by  a  clause  with  subject  and  verb. 
If  you  use  the  clause,  you  must  precede  it  with  "as"  or  "as  if".  It 
is  correct  to  say,  "He  talks  like  his  father",  but  you  must  say,  "He 
talked  as  his  father  used  to  talk,"  because  the  second  verb,  "used", 
creates  a  clause,  and  this  clause  must  be  introduced  by  "as",  not  by 
"like". 

Supply  "like"  or  "as"  or  "as  if":  1.  I  can  t  sing  —  I  once  sang. 
2.  You  look  —  you  had  been  out  all  night.  3.  She  can't  cook  a 
meal  —  sister  cooks  them. 


ENGLISH  COMPOSITION.  » 

m.  The  use  of  "broke"  for  "broken",  "chose"  for  "chosen", 
"drove"  for  "driven",  "fell"  for  "fallen",  "flew"  for  "flown",  "froze" 
for  "frozen"  "rode"  for  "ridden",  "shook"  for  "shaken",  "spoke"  for 
"spoken",  "stole"  for  "stolen",  "took"  for  "taken",  "tore"  for  "torn", 
"wore"  for  "worn",  and  "wrote"  for  "written" — after  "has"  or 
"have"  or  some  form  of  the  verb  to  be  (as  "am",  "are",  "is",) ; 
as,  "My  watch  is  broke",  for  "is  broken". 

Supply  the  right  form  of  each  of  these  fourteen  verbs  In  the 
following  sentence:  "I  have  — ",  inserting  after  form  of  the  verb 
some  words  to  complete  the  sentence;  as,  "I  have  (chosen)  my 
studies." 


Lesson  IV. 


Write  an  account  of  a  conversation  in  which  two  or  more  boys, 
or  girls,  discuss  a  picnic.or  a  game  of  baseball,  or  some  form  of 
social  entertainment,  which  they  have  attended  or  are  going  to 
attend.  In  writing  this,  introduce  as  many  of  the  forms  discussed 
in  Lesson  III  as  possible. 

Remember  (1)  that  quotation  marks  must  be  placed  after  as 
well  as  before,  the  completed  remarks  of  each  speaker;  (2)  that 
Interruptions  like  "said  he",  "George  continued",  must  be  set  oft  by 
commas  and  not  quoted;  (3)  that  the  two  parts  of  the  quotation 
thus  interrupted  must  be  surrounded  by  quotation  marks.  Example 
— "I  say,  John,"  enquired  Joseph,  "where  are  you?" 

Limit  your  narrative  to  300  words.  Plunge  right  into  the  midst 
of  it.    Make  it  natural  and  spirited. 

You  might  begin  in  some  such  way  as  this: — They  sat  down  on 
the  steps,  laid  their  hats  down,  and  at  once  started  In.  "Oh,  Susie, 
doesn't  it  seem  good  to  be  out  of  school",  Maud  began;  "now  we 
can  have  all  the  picnics  we  want",  etc. 

Remember  to  introduce  into  your  narrative  compound  pronoun 
subjects  and  objects,  "don't"  or  "doesn't",  "everybody",  forms  of 
"lie",  "rise",  "sit",  "come",  "run",  and  as  many  other  of  the  forms 
of  Lesson  III  as  you  can  Introduce  without  making  your  story 
artificial. 


10 


ENGLISH  COMPOSITION. 


Lesson  V, —Errors  in  the  Use  of  Words, 


Another  bad  habit  in  language  Is  the  habit  of  using  certain 
words  that  are  either  not  good  English  words  at  all  (Examples — 
"flunk",  "ain't' ),  or  that  are  not  good  English  when  that  particular 
meaning  is  applied  to  them  (Examples — "rubber"  for  "turn  around", 
"knock"  for  "find  fault  with").  Such  expressions  creep  into  daily 
conversation  and  are  very  common,  but  all  good  autthorities 
condemn  them,  and  the  dictionaries  brand  them  with  certain  special 
marks.     Expressions  of  this  character  are  called  impurities. 

Now.  everyone  should  take  a  special  pride  in  speaking  and 
writing  pure  English,  and  bo  we  shall  consider  briefly  some  of  these 
classes  of  impurities.  We  shall  (1)  name  the  class,  (2)  define  or 
explain  it  if  necessary,  (3)  give  some  words  as  examples,  and  (4) 
translate  these  words  into  pure  English. 

1.     Slang. 

Everyone  knows  what  slang  is.  It  consists  of  those  catchy, 
flippant,  overworked  expressions,  of  wide  popular  circulation,  that 
come  and  go,  and  that  fill  the  daily  speech  of  the  uneducated  or 
the  careless  with  names  for  all  kinds  of  objects,  qualities,  or  acts, 
that  are  anything  but  the  right  names.  Slang  expressions  have  the 
advantage  of  force  and  picturesqueness,  and  occasionally  one  may  be 
used  for  effect,  if  we  quote  it,  in  writing,  or  if  we  indicate  by  the 
intonation  of  the  voice,  in  speaking,  that  we  do  not  take  it  seriously. 
Nevertheless,  the  habit  of  using  slang  should  be  carefully  guarded 
against.     The  two  great  objections  to  its  use  are: 


(a) 


It  lowers  the  tone  of  our  speech  or  writing ;    ^  ^ >\  A 


4 


(b)  It  cripples  our  vocabulary;  that  is,  if  we(get  intoHhe  habit 
of  using  slang,  the  slang  expression  comes  into  the  mind  for  every 
Idea,  and  when  we  really  want  to  use  pure  English,  we  cannot  think 
of  a  reputable  term. 

Give  pure  English  equivalents  for  the  following: 


bawled  out 

a  date 

flunk 

a  bid 

punk 

stung 

bluff 

nerve 

a  pony 

batty 

a  dub 

dippy 

a  mutt 

fierce 

a  jay 

rattled 

a  guy 

smarty 

all  in 

some  class  to 

bunc 

fired 

rough  house 

sore 

bum 

give  him  away 

sit  down  on 


JUNGLlSIi  COMPOSITION. 


11 


chesty 

size  him  up 

lobster 

give  him  the  laugh 

knock 

jolly  him 

kick 

he's  easy 

classy 

an  easy  mark 

a  fake 

hand  a  lemon 

the  limit 

four-flusher 

a  feed 

the  candy 

guy 
roast 
swell 
a  peach 
peachy 
hot  air 
grafter 
good  eats 

2.     Illiterate  Expressions. 

These  are  certain  terms,  or  modes  of  expression,  that  we  at 
once  recognize  as  being  the  result  of  a  lack  of  education,  or  of 
low  and  vulgar  associations. 

Avoid  the  following  expressions: 


ain't 

hadn't  ought 

disremember 

heft 

everywheres 

this  here 

lady  friend 

growed  (grown) 

ketched   (caught) 


a  widow  lady 
het  up 
nohow 

our'n,  your'n 
onto 

that  there 
them  books 
drawed  (drawn) 
bursted  or  busted 


leave  me  go 

unbeknownst 

afeared 

ten  foot  high,  (feet) 

weighs  ten  ton,  (tons) 

dark-complected 

this  way,  lady 

blowed    (blown) 

knowed   (known) 


3.     Unauthorized  Abbreviations. 

These  are  very  common,  but  good  authority  is  entirely  against 
them.  All  of  them  have  a  more  or  less  flippant  sound,  and  some 
of  them  ("gents",  for  example)  are  vulgar.  "Want  ad"  is  a 
technical  newspaper  word  and  may  be  used  as  such.  "Gym"  and 
similar  abbreviations  are  a  kind  of  technical  school  slang,  perhaps 
allowable  as  one  of  the  distinctive  features  of  school  life,  when 
used  with  moderation  in  conversation  around  the  school  itself; 
but  to  use  them  constantly,  or  for  the  purpose  of  mystifying  persons 
who  do  not  understand  them,  is  affectation.  "Phone"  is  convenient 
for  those  who  think  that  "telephone"  is  too  much  trouble,  and 
"auto"  is  useful  to  those  who  call  an  automobile  an  "automobeel", 
but  neither  abbreviations  is  authorized  by  the  best  usage. 

The  following  are  some  of  the  most  common  of  these  unauthor- 
ized abbreviations: 

an  ad  phone  way  (away) 

auto  photo  exam 

doc  gents  gym 

prof  pants  lit 

pard  most  (almost)  math 

cap  rep  (reputation)  lab  (laboratory) 


a  ENGLISH  COMPOSITION. 

4»  Words  Formed  without  Authority  or  Newly  Coined  Words. 
These  are  expressions  that  have  been  coined,  often  by  news- 
paper or  magazine  writers,  to  meet  some  immediate  demand  of 
condensed  phrasing,  or  to  name  some  new  condition  or  object. 
Until  they  are  accepted  by  good  authority,  they  will  have  to  be 
avoided. 

Examples  follow.    Translate  them  into  pure  English, 
orate  walkist 

resurrect  talkist 

laborite  singist 

enthuse  function  (social  gathering) 

a  steal  burglarize 

a  combine  to  suicide 

Sundayed  oslerize  (chloroform  as  useless) 

well  posted  postal  (post  card) 

stand-patter  balance  (for  rest) 

Btand-patism  muck-raker 

5.     Cotloquialisms. 

These  are  words  or  expressions  that  are  not  permitted  in 
written  composition,  but  are  heard  frequently  in  conversation,  where 
there  use  is  allowable  on  the  ground  of  ease  and  naturalness. 
Examples  are: 

don't  aren't  have  got  (for  "have") 

doesn't  won't  guess  (for  "think")    .- 

can't  a  couple  (of  dollars)    a  lot  of 

6.  Miscellaneous. 
The  classes  of  words  mentioned  in  the  preceding  paragraphs 
are  called  Barbarisms.  Other  classes  of  barbarisms,  which  however 
are  not  likely  to  trouble  us  so  much,  are  Provincialisms  (expressions 
peculiar  to  a  certain  restricted  region,  as,  "carry"  for  "escort,' 
Southern) ;  Obsolete  words  (expressions  gone  (out  of  use,  as 
"whilom"  for  "formerly") ;  and  Foreign  words  (examples,  "beau 
monde"  for  "fashionable  society",  "per  se"  for  "in  itself"). 

IMPROPRIETIES. 

There  are  certain  words,  perfectly  good  in  themselves,  that 
ignorant  or  careless  speakers  and  writers  are  continually  misusing 
for  other  words  that  have  a  somewhat  similar  meaning  or  sound. 
Such  an  incorrect  use  of  a  good  English  word  is  called  an 
impropriety.  An  impropriety  differs  from  a  barbarism,  or  impurity, 
in  that  an  impropriety  is  the  wrong  use  of  a  word,  while  a 
barbarism  is  the  use  of  a  wrong  word.  For  example,  when  we  say 
"gentlemen's    waiting-room",    meaning    "men's    waiting-room",    we 


ENGLISH  COMPOSITION.  IS 

commit  an  impropriety;     when  we  say  "gent's  waiting-room"  for 

"men's  waiting-room",  we  commit  a  barbarism,  for  "gent"  is  itself 

a  forbidden  word. 

The   following   words   are   often   used   Improperly;    distinguish 

between  the   meanings  of  the   words  in  each  pair  or  group,  and 

write  sentences  illustrating  these  distinctions. 

all  of,  whole  of  character,  reputation 

affect,  effect  deceased,  diseased 

accept,  except  plenty,  plentiful 

expect,  suspect,  suppose  Professor,  Mr. 

learn,  teach  most,  almost 

may,  can  in,  into 

female,  woman,  lady  last,  latest 

some,  somewhat,  something  farther,  further 

except,  unless,  without  last,  latest 

people,  parties,  persons  mad,  angry 

all  ready,  already  alumni,  alumni  reception 

all  together,  altogether  like,  as 

amount,  number,  quantity  as,  so 

recollect,  remember  «top,  stay 


Lesson  VI.—The  Structure  of  Sentences. 

Every  high  school  student  knows  what  a  sentence  is, — at  least, 
theoretically.  He  has  for  years  written  sentences,  analyzed  them, 
and  manipulated  them  in  various  ways;  yet  here  again  we  find  the 
same  old  troubles  in  the  themes  of  even  advanced  students. 

The  chronic  diseases  of  sentences,  if  care  is  not  taken  in  their 
construction,  are  the  following: 

1.  They  "ramble  on"  after  the  thought  Is  really  complete. 
Instead  of  closing  with  a  period  at  the  end  of  a  completed  thought 
the  writer  jots  down  a  comma,  and  goes  glibly  on  with  what  ought 
to  be  a  new  sentence,  including  it  in  the  preceding  sentence  without 
a  connecting  conjunction.  Example:  "We  then  rode  on  to  town, 
when  we  got  there  we  tied  our  horses  at  the  village  store,  the 
proprietor  was  out  in  front,  he  asked  us  to  come  in".  (Correct  this 
sentence  by  inserting  periods  or  conjunctions  in  the  proper  places). 

2.  Thoughts  (clauses)  that  do  not  belong  together,  because 
they  are  not  closely  related  or  because  their  relationship  is  not 
carefully  indicated,  are  placed  in  the  same  sentence.  Example: 
"When  we  are  absent  from  school,  we  have  to  make  up  our  lessons 


14  ENGLISH  COMPOSITION. 

the  next  day,  and  we  study  Latin,  geometry,  English,  and  history." 
Make  two  sentences  of  this,  or  reconstruct  it  so  as  to  show  some 
relationship  between  the  clauses;  thus,  "We  study  Latin,  geometry, 
English,  and  history.  When  we  are  absent  from  school,  we  have  to 
make  up  our  lessons  the  next  day".  Or  thus,  "We  study  Latin, 
geometry,  English,  and  history,  and  let  me  tell  you  it  is  no  small 
task  to  make  up  such  studies  on  the  day  after  one  has  been  absent, 
as  we  have  to  do  in  this  school."  The  expressions  indicated  by 
heavier  type  serve  to  create  some  relationship  between  the  other- 
wise apparently  unrelated  clauses.  Still,  this  second  method  is 
hardly  so  good  as  the  first  for  the  sentence  just  quoted. 

3.  The  sentence  ends  too  soon,  and  expressions  such  as 
relative  clauses,  "also"  clauses,  and  participial  phrases,  which  ought 
to  be  included  in  the  one  sentence,  are  added  as  new  sentences. 
Examples:  "We  made  a  roaring  fire  of  brushwood.  Which  was 
pretty  comfortable  after  our  long,  cold  ride".  Corrected,  "We  made 
witU  brushwood  a  roaring  fire,  which  was  pretty  comfortable  after 
our  long,  cold  ride."  Or  better,  "We  made  a  roaring  fire  of  brush- 
wood. This  fire  was  pretty  comfortable  after  our  long,  cold  ride." 
"The  soldiers  still  marched  on  and  on  into  the  forest.  The  sun 
having  set  several  hours  before."  Corrected:  "The  soldiers  still 
marched  on  and  on  into  the  forest,  though  the  sun  had  set  several 
hours  before."  "We  got  thoroughly  wet.  Also  the  wind  blew  our 
hats  away."  Corrected:  "We  got  thoroughly  wet,  and  to  add  to  our 
troubles,  the  wind  blew  our  hats  away."  Avoid  introducing  either 
a  new  sentence  or  a  clause  by  means  of  "also".  "Also"  must  either 
be  avoided  entirely,  or  must  follow  some  other  word  in  its  clause. 

4.  The  clauses  of  the  sentence  are  badly  connected,  from  lack 
of  conjunctions  or  conjunctive  expressions.  You  will  be  surprised 
how  nicely  an  apparently  loose  and  disconnected  sentence  will  he 
"straightened  out"  by  the  insertion  of  just  a  little  conjunction, 
provided  it  is  the  right  conjunction.  Example:  "We  were  tardy 
this  morning,  we  had  to  stay  after  school."  Insert  "and  so"  before 
the  second  "we". 

Now  all  these  "diseases"  of  the  sentence  may  be  cured  by  the 
exercise  of  a  little  care  and  common  sense,  and  by  the  observance 
of  a  few  simple  directions. 

1.  Every  sentence  is  a  complete  assertion,  question,  or  com- 
mand, having  as  its  Base  (a)  a  Subject,  and  (b)  a  Predicate,  which 
asserts,  questions,  or  commands  with  reference  to  the  subject. 
The  predicate  must  be  a  finite  verb,  not  a  participle  or  an  infinitive. 
The  sentence  must  have  this  subject  and  this  finite  verb,  and  these 
in   turn   may  be   modified   by   words,   phrases,   or   clauses    (other 


ENGLISH  COMPOSITION.  15 

sentences  connected  with  the  main  sentences  by  subordinating 
conjunctions),  provided  these  modifiers  really  have  a  near  enough 
relation  to  the  sentence  to  be  included  in  it. 

2.  Some  sentences  have  two  or  more  independent  bases,  which, 
with  their  modifiers,  are  connected  by  co-ordinating  conjunctions. 
Such  sentences  are  called  compound  sentences.  Do  not,  however, 
make  a  compound  sentence  unless  you  feel  that  the  relationship 
between  the  two  independent  thoughts  is  sufficiently  close  to 
warrant  their  being  placed  in  the  same  sentence. 

3.  When  yoiv  have  written  down  what  you  feel  to  be  a  complete 
thought,  and  what  sounds  like  a  complete  sentence  when  you  read 
it  aloud,  stop  the  sentence,  insert  a  period,  and  then  go  on  with  the 
next  sentence,  beginning  it  with  a  capital  letter.  A  person  whose 
mind  works  logically  ought  to  be  able  to  tell  when  one  thought  ends, 
and  a  new  thought  begins.  Be  careful  about  this.  Test  by  both 
thought  and  sound. 

4.  Be  sure  to  keep  out  of  the  same  sentence  thoughts  that 
are  not  closely  related.  Thoughts  may  be  placed  in  the  same 
sentence  if  they  are  related  in  any  of  the  following  ways:  the 
second  thought  a  repetition,  a  continuation,  a  cause,  a  consequence, 
of  the  preceding  thoiight,  or  a  contrast  with  it,  or  associated  with 
it  in  time  or  place. 

5.  However,  even  if  the  thoughts  are  related  by  any  of  the 
relationships  indicated  in  (4),  still,  generally  this  relationship  has 
to  be  shown  by  such  conjunctions  as — "and",  to  show  repetition  or 
continuation;  "but",  to  show  contrast;  "therefore",  "and  so",  to 
show  consequence;  "oecause",  "for",  "since'',  to  show  caAise. 
Be  careful  to  use  enough  conjunctions  and  the  right  conjunctions. 
Do  not,  however,  make  the  sentence  too  long  by  stringing  out 
clause  after  clause,  even  though  conjunctions  are  used.  Especially 
avoid  introducing  "and",  more  than  once  in  connecting  co-ordinate 
clauses  in  the  same  sentence.  It  is  better  in  such  cases  to  divide 
the  one  sentence  into  several. 

E.>camples:  "The  band  was  playing,  the  crowd  was  gathering 
In  the  park."  Insert  "and".  The  class  were  all  present,  the 
teacher  was  not  there."  Insert  "but".  "The  day  was  rainy,  we  did 
not  have  a  good  time."  Insert  "and  so".  "We  were  happy, 
examinations  were  over."  Insert  "for".  Another  way  to  improve 
such  sentences  is  to  use  a  semicolon  in  place  of  the  comma. 
When  that  is  done  the  conjunction  is  not  necessary.  In  ^ome 
cases,  however,  it  is  almost  necessary  to  use  a  conjunction  Instead 
of  the  semicolon. 


16  ENGLISH  COMPOSITION. 

EXERCISES. 

1.  Write  a  sentence  containing  four  clauses,  and  beginning 
"The  bell  rang  — ." 

2.  Write  a  sentence  containing  two  contrasted  thoughts;  a 
sntence  containing  two  thoughts,  one  the  consequence  of  the  other; 
a  sentence  containing  two  thoughts,  one  the  cause  of  the  other; 
a  sentence  containing  three  thoughts  belonging  to  the  same  scene. 

3.  Divide  the  following  into  its  component  sentences:  The 
high  school  course  lb  divided  into  four  years  of  thirty-eight  weeks 
each  recitation  periods  are  forty-five  minutes  long  and  there  are 
five  recitations  a  week  in  each  study  to  complete  the  course  one 
must  secure  thirty-two  credits  a  credit  represents  a  term's  work  in 
one  full  subject. 


Lesson  VIL 


Write  a  narrative  of  what  you  did  yesterday.  You  might 
call  it  "The  History  of  a  Day,"  or  "A  Day's  Happenings".  Do  not 
exceed  300  words  or  so.  Make  this  a  study  in  careful  construction 
and  connection  of  sentences.  Be  careful  about  your  conjunctions. 
Test  all  your  sentences  by  reading  them  aloud  to  yourself.  If  by 
the  sound  and  the  sense,  a  sentence  seems  to  be  ended  where  you 
have  placed  a  comma,  investigate  and  see  if  you  ought  not  to 
substitute  a  period  for  the  comma,  and  begin  a  new  sentence  with 
a  capital  letter.  Do  not  neglect  to  use  such  conjunctive  or 
reference  expressions  as  "after  this",  "when  I  had  — ",  "then,  too", 
"in  this  way",  "however",  and  the  like.  Still  do  not  overdo  the 
matter  of  conjunctions;  there  is  a  happy  medium  between  "sad" 
cake  and  burnt  cake. 


Lesson  VIIL— More  About  the  Sentence. 

After  one  has  by  practice  acquired  a  sensitive  feeling  for  what 
ought  and  what  ought  not  to  be  in  a  sentence,  one  is  prepared  to 
Investigate  the  internal  structure  of  the  sentence  and  to  see  hov/ 
its  various  parts  may  be  arranged  so  as  to  express  the  thought 
most  clearly.  For  above  all  things,  assuming  that  everything  is 
grammatically  correct,  clearness  is  the  great  aim  of  expression.  We 
speak  and  we  write  that  others  may  receive  our  thought,  and  it 


ENGLISH  COMPOSITION.  17 

Is   our   duty   so   to   express     ourselves  that  this  thought  may  be 
received  with  the  least  effort  on  the  part  of  our  readers  or  hearers. 

Lack  of  clearness  may  be  due  to  the  fact  that  a  sentence  is 
capable  of  two  meanings.     Such  a  sentence  is  said  to  be  ambiguous. 

Here  are  a  few  directions  for  securing  clearness  and  avoiding 
ambiguity: 

1.  Put  related  elements  of  tlie  sentence  near  together,  or  at 
least  in  such  positions  relative  to  each  other  that  their  relationship 
will  be  plain.  Such  "related  elements"  are  (a)  subject  and  verb, 
(b)  verb  and  object,  (c)  pronoun  and  antecedent,  (d)  modified 
expression  and  modifier.  Test  your  sentences  to  see  whether  any 
one  of  these  elements  is  so  misplaced  that  its  relationship  to  others 
is  doubtful, 

A.  Ordinarily  the  natural  order  of  words  in  the  sentence 
should  be  followed;  that  is,  (1)  Subject  and  modifiers;  (2)  verb; 
(3)  object  and  modifiers;  (4)  modifiers  of  verb.  Whenever  this 
order  is  varied,  as  it  often  is  for  emphasis  or  variety,  care  should 
be  taken  to  preserve  clearness.  Example  of  natural  order — "The 
king's  daughter,  rising  from  the  throne,  addressed  the  poor  old 
beggar  kindly." 

B.  The  antecedent  of  every  pronoun  should  be  evident  without 
hesitation;  hence  the  pronoun  should  be  placed  near  its  antecedent. 
If  the  reference  of  a  pronoun  cannot  be  made  clear,  it  is  better  to 
repeat  the  antecedent  or  to  use  a  synonyn  of  it,  rather  than  to  use 
the  pronoun.  Examples:  Not — "It  was  the  son  of  the  gardner  who 
took  his  father's  place",  but — "It  was  the  gardner's  son  who  took  his 
father's  place".  "The  cat  finally  found  a  home  with  an  old  hen, 
and  no  one  abused  her  (?)  after  that".  Better — "The  cat  finally 
found  a  home  with  an  old  hen,  and  no  one  abused  Pussy  after  that." 

C.  Modifiers  should  be  placed  next  to  the  words  they  modify. 
This  is  especially  true  of  relative  clauses  and  participial  phrases. 
We  all  know  how  ludicrous  sentences  become  through  the  neglect 
of  this  caution.  For  example:  "Hanging  on  the  wall,  I  saw  a 
picture",  for  "I  saw  a  picture  hanging  on  the  wall".  "I  saw  an  old 
soldier  with  his  dog,  who  fought  in  the  war  of  1812". 

D.  Closely  related  to  (C)  are  participial  phrases  that  not  only 
are  not  near  the  words  they  modify,  but  that  have  no  word  at  all  to 
modify.  For  example:  "Turning  the  comer,  a  church  came  into 
view".  "Proceeding  on  our  way,  the  sun  finally  set".  "Turning" 
and  j  ''proceeding"  modify  nothing  Uhat  is  expressed  »in  t^eil- 
sentences.  Such  expressions  have  to  be  turned  into  clauses;  as, 
"When  we  turned  the  corner,  we  saw  a  church."  "As  we  proceeded 
on  our  way,  the  sun  set". 


18    -  ENGLISH    COMPOSITION. 

2.  Another  way  to  preserve  cleariess  is  to  express  in  the  same 
form  elements  having  the  same  use  in  the  sentence;  that  is,  if 
there  are  several  coordinate  modifiers,  make  them  all  word,  or 
phrase,  or  clause  modifiers;  do  not  mix  the  several  forms  if  you  can 
help  it.  For  example,  not — "He  was  a  man  of  high  ideals  and  who 
loved  his  country",  but — "He  was  a  man  of  high  ideals  and  of 
intense  patriotism" — both  phrase  modifiers;  or — "He  was  a  man 
who  had  high  ideals  and  who  loved  his  country" — both  clause 
modifiers. 

3.  Finally,  do  not  be  afraid  to  repeat  whatever  is  necessary 
to  make  the  sense  clear,  whether  it  be  the  article,  the  pronoun, 
the  antecedent,  the  verb,  or  the  auxiliary.  Examples:  1.  The 
secretary  and  treasurer  were  both  present.  Since  there  are  two 
individuals,  repeat  "the"  before  "treasurer".  2.  I  want  you  to 
stay  at  my  house  and  to  entertain  your  friends.  Repeat  "I  want" 
after  "and",  if  you  mean  that.  3.  The  teacher  said  that  the  pupil 
must  bring  back  his  book.  Substitute  either  "the  teacher's"  or 
"the  pupil's"  for  'his",  whichever  you  mean,  or  change  to  direct 
discourse — The  teacher  said  to  the  pupil,  "Bring  back  my  (or  your) 
book."  4.  I  never  have  and  I  never  will  go  to  a  skating  rink. 
Insert  "gone"  after  "have";  or  better — "I  never  have  gone  to  a 
skating  rink,  and  I  never  will  go  to  one". 

Now,  there  is  nothing  diflicult  about  any  of  these  suggestions 
for  good  sentence  construction,  either  in  this  lesson  or  in  Lesson 
VI.  They  are  simple  and  easy  to  understand.  All  that  is  needed 
is  care,  and  a  close  revision  of  your  sentence  after  you  have 
thought  out  your  first  expression  of  it.  To  get  things  right  in  this 
world,  no  matter  what  they  are,  requires  attention,  carefulness, 
and  preseverance.  The  only  way  to  acquire  knowledge  and  skill, 
whether  it  be  in  baseball  or  in  composition,  is  (1)  to  observe  and 
learn  accurately  at  the  beginning;  (2)  to  remember;  (3)  to 
practice. 


Lesson  IX, 


Write  sentences  illustrating  each  of  the  points  brought  out  in 
Lesson  VIII,  as  follows: 

1.  One  sentence  illustrating  the  natural  order  of  words  in  the 
sentence. 

2.  One  illustrating  the  natural  order  slightly  varied  for  clear- 
ness. 


ENGLISH  COMPOSITION.  19 

3.  Two  illustrating  the  correct  placing  of  pronoun  and  ante- 
cedent. 

4.  Two  illustrating  faulty  position  of  modifiers  corrected. 

5.  Two  illustrating  "dangling"  participial  phrases  corrected. 

6.  Two  illustrating  similarity  in  form  of  similar  elements. 

7.  Two  illustrating  repetition  of  words  for  clearness. 


Lesson  X.—  The  Paragraph 

Most  persons  when  they  get  to  thinking  about  a  subject,  have 
several  thoughts  about  it,  each  of  which  is  expressed  in  a  sentence. 
Such  a  group  of  sentences  related  to  one  another  by  their  relation- 
ship to  a  common  subject,  we  all  know,  is  called  a  Paragraph. 

Unity  of  the  Paragraph. 

One  of  the  first  principles  to  remember  in  paragraphing  is,  that 
a  paragraph  is  not  simply  several  sentences  thrown  together  into 
a  group  for  mechanical  effect,  because  somebody  in  authority  thinks 
a  composition  looks  better  when  cut  up  into  such  groups.  Not  at 
all.  Every  sentence  in  a  paragraph  should  have  to  do  with  one 
principal  proposition  called  the  Topic  of  the  paragraph;  and  no 
sentence  has  any  right  in  the  paragraph  unless  it  serves  to  set 
forth,  explain,  illustrate,  repeat,  or  in  some  way  enlarge  upon  the 
topic.  The  topic  is  the  father  and  the  other  sentences  are  the  sons. 
If  somebody  else's  son  creeps  into  a  paragraph,  he  must  be  expelled 
and  must  go  seek  his  own  father.  This  relationship  of  all  the 
sentences  to  the  topic  gives  the  paragraph  what  is  called  Unity. 
Every  paragraph,  as  well  as  every  sentence,  should  have  unity; 
that  is,  be  about  one  theme. 

A  paragraph  generally  contains  (1)  the  (topic  sentence  (that 
is,  a  sentence  stating  the  topic),  though  this  is  some  times  omitted, 
especially  in  narration;  and  (2)  other  sentences  explaining,  illustrat- 
ing, expanding,  repeating,  contrasting  with,  or  proving,  the  topic- 
sentence. 

A  paragraph  begins  with  an  indentation  from  the  left,  continues 
through  several  sentences  of  the  character  just  indicated  until  the 
topic  is  developed,  and  ends  like  a  sentence,  and  if  possible  with 
an  indentation  from  the  right. 

Tak«  one  of  your  text  books,  turn  to  some  page,  and  state  the 
topics  of  six  paragraphs  on  that  and  subsequent  pages. 


20  ENGLISH    COMPOSITION. 

Pick  out  one  of  these  paragraphs  that  begins  with  a  topic- 
sentence,  and  then  tell  what  office  each  subsequent  sentence  per- 
forms; that  IS,  whether  it  repeats,  explains,  illiustrates,  proves, 
the  topic-  sentence.    Try  this  with  several  paragraphs. 


Lesson  XL 

In  the  following,  first  write  the  topic-sentence  given,  and  then 
write  after  each  topic-sentence,  sentences  of  the  character  indicated 
in  each  case.  Do  not  write  whole  paragraphs;  simply  write  the 
sentences  specified. 

1.  Virtue  it  its  own  reward.     (Two  sentences  explaining  this). 

2.  The  day  was  dark  and  gloomy.  (Two  sentences  repeating 
and  adding  details  to  this  topic). 

3.  The  bell  rang  the  close  of  school.  (Two  sentences  continu- 
ing the  narrative). 

4.  It  pays  to  study  one's  lessons.  (Two  or  more  sentences 
illustrating  this  topic). 

5.  Vacation  is  a  joyful  time.  (One  sentence  contrasting  with 
this). 


Lesson  XII,— Coherence  of  the  Paragraph. 

Coherence  is  a  word  of  Latin  derivation  meaning  a  cleaving, 
or  sticking  together,  of  parts;  a  suitable  connection  of  the  elements 
that  go  to  make  up  the  whole  thing. 

A  paragraph,  like  everything  that  is  properly  constructed, 
should  have  not  only  unity,  but  coherence;  that  is,  its  sentences 
should  not  only  be  about  one  topic,  but  they  should  also  be  put 
together  properly. 

Coherence  of  the  paragraph  involves  two  things:  (1)  Proper 
arrangement  of  the  sentences;  and  (2)  proper  connection  be- 
tween them. 

The  arrangement  of  the  sentences  is  determined  by  the 
natural  development  of  the  thought  through  the  paragraph. 
Usually  the  topic-sentence  comes  first,  though  sometimes,  for  the 
purpose  of  keeping  the  reader  in  suspense,  it  is  saved  till  the  last. 


ENGLISH  COMPOSITION.  21 

After  the  topic-sentence,  if  necessary,  may  come  a  sentence 
explaining  it,  or  repeating  it  in  different  form.  Illustrative 
sentences  would  naturally  follow  explanatory  sentences.  Sentences 
that  show  results  or  that  prove,  would  naturally  come  toward  the 
end.  Sometimes  a  paragraph  begins  with  a  preparatory  sentence, 
or  one  connecting  it  with  the  preceding  paragraph,  and  ends  with  a 
little  summary  of  the  substance  of  the  paragraph.  Care  should 
always  be  taken  that  like  kinds  of  sentences  be  placed  together; 
that  is,  that  explanatory  sentences  be  placed  with  explanatory 
sentences  and  not  mixed  in  with  illustrative  sentences  or  proofs, 
and  so  on.  Consciously  or  unconsciously,  we  should  plan  the  order 
of  sentences  before  beginning  to  write.  However,  in  all  of  this  try 
not  to  make  your  paragraphs  artificial;  do  not  follow  one  set  plan 
always.  Vary  the  arrangement  of  your  sentences  in  different 
paragraphs.  After  a  time  you  will  fall  into  the  habit  of  logical 
arrangement  without  very  much  conscious  effort. 

With  the  order  of  sentences  settled,  the  next  consideration 
is,  how  properly  to  connect  these  sentences.  This  is  very  important. 
If  your  paragraph  sounds  disconnected  or  "jerky,"  you'  will  be 
surprised  how  readily  it  can  be  worked  into  unity  and  coherence 
by  a  little  attention  to  the  connection  between  sentences. 

The  proper  connection  between  the  sentences  may  be  secured 
by: 

1.  Conjunctions  or  conjunctive  phrases. 

Examples;  "He  longed  to  excel  in  his  studies  and 
dreamed  of  winning  the  Latin  scholarship.  Yet  nature  had  not 
endowed  him,  etc."  "After  school  Josephus  worked  in  a  bakery 
shop.  Indeed,  he  was  willing  to  do  anything  to  work  his  way 
through  college." 

2.  Words  of  reference. 

Example:  'After  school  Josephus  worked  in  a  bakery 
shop.  In  this  way  he  managed  to  work  his  way  through  college." 
"He  played  golf  and  fished.  These  diversions  kept  him  in  good 
health." 

Such  reference  words  serve  to  connect  the  two  sen- 
tences by  directing  the  attention  back  to  some  expression  in  the 
preceding  sentence. 

3.  Repeating  In  the  second  sentence  some  word  or  words 
from  the  first. 

Example:  "His  mind  was  quick  to  act.  His  thought 
played  about  every  subject  with  lightning-like  rapidity," 

4.  Inverting  the  sentence  order  to  point  more  directly  to 
some  word  in  the  preceding  sentence. 


22  ENGLISH  COMPOSITION. 

Example:  "Johnson  decided  to  take  up  athletics  at  the 
rery  beginning.  In  athletics,  he  knew  he  could  shine,  though  he 
•was  not  so  sure  about  books."  Here  the  phrase,  "in  athletics"  is 
inverted  from  its  natural  place  in  order  to  bring  It  nearer  to  the 
word  "athletics"  In  the  first  sentence.  This  seems  to  bind  the 
sentences  together  more  closely. 

5.  Sometimes  no  special  devices  are  needed  to  show  the 
connection,  the  close  relationship  of  the  thought  being  sufficient 
in  itself.  This,  of  course  is  really  a  more  "artistic"  way  than  to 
resort  to  too  many  special  devices,  but  one  has  to  be  very  careful 
that  the  connection  is  clear  and  unmistakable,  if  one  omits  the 
connectives. 

As  a  final  suggestion  with  regard  to  the  paragraph,  it  may 
be  observed  that  some  variety  in  the  structure  of  the  different 
sentences  as  to  length  and  form,  makes  the  paragraph  less 
monotonous  and  more  pleasing  to  read.  Long  sentences  may 
alternate  with  short,  compound  or  complex  with  simple,  interroga- 
tive with  declarative. 

In  the  paragraph  from  your  text  book  that  you  consulted  in 
Lesson  X,  (1)  Note  in  what  order  the  sentences  are  arranged; 
(2)  describe  the  means  by  which  the  sentences  of  the  paragraph 
are  connected. 

Exercise. 

In  the  following  paragraph,  rearrange  the  sentences  and  connect 
them  properly,  so  as  to  give  the  paragraph  unity  and  coherence. 

We  started  out.  We  were  going  to  a  picnic.  It  was  a  bright 
day.  The  day  was  also  warm.  We  were  in  a  picnic  wagon.  The 
day  was  bright,  but  it  stormed  before  we  got  home.  We  reached 
our  destination  about  ten  o'clock.  We  had  a  very  pleasant  time. 
We  left  for  home  about  eight  o'clock  in  the  eveninfe.  We  spent 
the  day  rowing,  playing  outdoor  games,  and  gathering  flowers. 
The  storm  was  very  severe. 


Lesson  XIIL 


Develop  one  of  the  following  topic-sentences  into  a  complete 
paragraph.  Make  the  topic-sentence  the  first  sentence  of  your 
paragraph  and  then  follow  it  with  the  rest  of  the  pargraph: 

1.    The  storm  rose  in  all  its  ftiry. 


ENGLISH  COMPOSITION.  23 

2.  Three  men  were  riding  along  through  a  dark  forest. 

3.  Be  true  to  your  friends  and  sincere  in  everything. 

4.  The  best  athletic  sport  is  — . 

5.  It's  an  ill  wind  that  blows  no  good. 

6.  All  work  and  no  play  makes  Jack  a  dull  boy. 

7.  I  remember  well  my  first  day  in  high  school. 

Be  careful  to  confine  yourself  to  one  paragraph,  but 
make  It  a  paragraph  of  six  or  eight  sentences.  Look  carefully  to 
its  unity  and  coherence. 


Lesson  XIV,— Punctuation— Capitals. 


It  is  not  necessary  m  this  little  treatise  to  repeat  all  the 
minute  rules  of  punctuation.  You  have  had  them  given  to  you  time 
and  time  again,  and  if  you  still  make  mistakes  in  punctuation,  it 
is  because  of  forgetting  or,  more  likely,  of  being  careless. 

For  our  present  purpose  it  will  be  sufllclent  to  call  special 
attention  to  certain  troublesome  usages,  taking  it  for  granted  that 
you  are  familiar  with  the  ordinary  rules  of  punctuation. 

CAPITAL    LETTERS. 

I.  Everybody  knows  that  the  following  should  be  capitalized: 
(1)  the  first  word  of  every  sentence;  (2)  the  first  word  of  every 
complete  line  of  poetry;  (3)  nouns  and  pronouns  referring  to  the 
Deity;     (4)    proper    names    and    adjectives    derived    from    them; 

(5)  the  important  words  in  titles  of  books  and  other  publications; 

(6)  the  names  of  the  days  of  the  week,  of  the  months,  and  of 
festivals,  but  not  of  the  seasons;  (7)  the  first  word  of  a  direct 
quotation. 

II.  Note  carefully  the  following  directions: 

1.  Do  not  capitalize  common  nouns  unless  there  is 
some  special  reason  for  capitalizing  them.  It  startles  one  to  come 
upon  an  unnecessary  capital,  as  in  this — "He  took  the  book  and 
placed  it  on  the  Piano."    Such  mistakes  are  shere  carelessness. 

2.    A  common  noun  is,  however,  capitalized  under  the 
following  conditions: 

(a)  When  it  has  really  become  a  proper  noun  by  virtue  of 
being  the  name  of  some  particular  object  as  distinguished  from 
other  objects  of  its  kind,  or  of  some  historical  event,  or  the  like. 


24  ENGLISH  COMPOSITION. 

Examples:  1.  Does  she  go  to  the  High  School  or  to  the 
Convent?  (On  the  other  hand,  the  following,  also,  is  the  correct 
xvsage — Is  there  a  high  school  or  a  convent  in  this  town?)  2.  He 
fought  in  the  Revolution.  Indeed  he  has  fought  in  every  revolution 
that  has  occurred  during  his  lifetime.  3.  The  Reformation  began 
in  the  sixteenth  century.  (Note  that  custom  does  not  capitalize 
the  names  of  centuries.) 

(b)  When  it  is  joined  to  a  proper  noun  as  part  of  the  name. 

Examples:  Washington  Street,  La  Salle  County,  The  War  of 
1812,  the  Illinois  River,  the  Rocky  Mountains,  the  Lincoln  School, 
Northwestern  University,  the  Ottawa  High  School,  the  Boat  Club. 

(c)  In  both  (a)  and  (b)  usage  differs.  Generally  every 
newspaper  or  other  publication  has  its  own  "style"  with  regard  to 
these  points.  However,  to  capitalize  seems  the  more  consistent 
and  less  confusing  practice. 

3.  There  is  no  good  reason  for  capitalizing  the  names 
of  college  classes  (senior,  freshman)  or  the  names  of  subjects  in 
the  school  course  of  study,  such  as  rhetoric,  algebra,  history,  unless 
they  are  proper  names  like  English,  Latin,  and  German.  Example: 
I  studied  history,  Latin,  geometry,  and  English  composition  in  my 
sophomore  year. 

4.  Titles  of  persons  are  capitalized  when  joined  to 
proper  names;  otherwise  they  are  not  capitalized,  except  in  the 
case  of  very  high  officials,  like  the  president  and  his  cabinet. 

Example:  Mayor  Green  has  been  mayor  for  six  years.  Who 
is  the  commanding  general?  I  think  It  is  General  Graves.  I  saw 
the  President  at  the  White  House. 

5.  When  expressions  are  formally  introduced,  or 
enumerated,  or  tabulated,  the  first  word  is  generally  capitalized, 
the  same  as  the  first  word  of  an  independent  sentence. 

Examples:     1.    Resolved,  That  the  school  session,  etc. 

2.  My  program  is  as  follows: 

First   hour Algebra. 

Second  hour   History 

Third   hour    Study 

Fourth  hour   Ehiglish 

3.  Ihe  value  of  Latin  study. 

(a)  Mental  discipline 

(b)  Training  in  English 

(c)  General  culture 


ENGLISH  COMPOSITION.  25 

6.     The  names  of  the   points  of  the   compass  are  not 
capitalized,  except  when  they  indicate  regions  of  a  country. 

Example:  Not  all  of  the  states  south  of  the  Mason  and 
Dixon's  Line  joined  the  South  in  the  Civil  War. 

Exercise. 

Refer  to  some  page  of  your  history  text  book  designated  by 
your  teacher,  and  justify  (i.  e.,  show  there  is  good  reason  for)  the 
use  of  all  the  capital  letters  on  that  and  several  subsequent  pages. 


Lesson  XV.— The  Comma. 


The  comma  has  four  principal  functions: 

I.  It  separates: 

1.  Words  or  phrases  in  a  series,  when  not  all  the  con- 
junctions are  expressed. 

Ex.  Reading,  writing,  and  arithmetic  are  elementary  studies. 
Algebra,  geometry,  bookkeeping,  are  high  school  studies.  Calculus 
and  sociology  and  astronomy  are  college  subjects. 

Note — When  all  of  the  conjunctions  are  omitted  but  the  last, 
the  commas  should  still  be  inserted  before  the  conjunctions,  as  in 
the  sentence,  "Reading,  writing,  and  arithmetic  are  elementary 
studies."  This  is  the  best  usage  and  should  be  followed.  If  the 
words  are  not  really  in  a  series,  but  each  modifies  all  of  the 
expression  that  follows,  no  commas  are  used.  Ex.  "She  bought  a 
pair  of  long  black  silk  gloves.'     "I^ong"  modifies  "black  silk  gloves." 

2.  Clauses  of  a  compound  sentence,  when  the  con- 
junction is  expressed.  Ex.  "John  goes  to  night  school,  and  his 
sister,  Mary,  helps  him  with  his  studies."  But — "John  goes  to  night 
school  and  is  assisted  by  his  sister,  Mary."  Note  that  the  second 
sentence  is  not  compound,  but  simply  has  a  compound  predicate. 
If  a  new  subject  follows  the  conjunction  (as,  "sister"  in  the  first 
sentence)  insert  the  comma;  if  not,  omit  the  comma. 

II.  It  sets  off  (from  the  rest  of  the  sentence)  — 

1.  Parenthetical  expressions,  if  brief  and  fairly  close 
of  connection. 

Ex.    His  story,  to  speak  plainly,  was  false. 

2.  Short  introductory  expressions  not  closely  con- 
nected with  what  follows. 


26  ENGLISH  COMPOSITION. 

Ex.  Well,  I  think  there  is  no  doubt  of  it.  Yes,  I  will 
go.    Why,  you  have  made  a  mistake. 

3.  Vocative  expressions  (names  of  objects  addressed). 
Ex.     There,  sir,  you  have  finally  passed.     Please  read, 

Charles.    Father,  please,  father,  come  home. 

4.  Appositives  (words  in  apposition)  unless  practically 
incorporated  with  the  words  they  modify,  or  unjess  they  are 
general  titles  preceding  a  proper  name,  or  unless  they  are  pronouns. 

Ex.  Moloch,  the  second  speaker,  pleaded  for  war. 
Peter  the  Great  Instituted  sweeping  reforms.  Queen  Elizabeth 
never  married.  The  poet  Longfellow  lived  at  Cambridge.  The 
President  himself  entered  the  room.    We  girls  all  passed. 

5.  The  clause  that  introduces  a  short  quotation, 
whether  actually  introductory  (at  the  beginning),  or  at  the  end, 
or  parenthetical  (dividing  the  quotation). 

Ex.  He  said,  "I  will  return  in  a  few  months.  But  you 
must  know,"  he  continued,  "that  it  will  be  no  easy  task."  "I  fully 
realize  that,"  said  the  boy  in  front. 

6.  Unrestrictive  modifiers,  whether  phrases  or  clauses. 
This  is  one  of  the  most  important  rules  for  the  comma 

and  should  be  carefully  noted.  If  you  have  mastered  the  difference 
between  a  restrictive  and  an  unrestrictive  modifier,  you  have 
mastered  the  secret  of  the  right  use  of  the  comma  in  a  large 
number  of  cases.  A  restrictive  modifier  is  one  that  is  necessary  to 
identify  the  modified  word.  It  answers  the  question  "which"  or 
"what"  placed  before  the  modified  word.  An  unrestrictive  modifier 
is  merely  additional  or  explanatory.  It  could  be  omitted  and  you 
could  still  identify  the  modified  object.  If  the  modifier  is  restrictive, 
do  not  use  commas.    If  it  is  unrestrictive,  ^commas  must  be  used. 

Ex.  These  are  the  books  that  yoiu  ordered.  The  books 
lying  on  the  table  are  mine,  the  books  on  the  shelV  ar<e  yours. 
(These  modifiers  all  answer  the  question  "which  books,"  are 
necessary  to  identify  the  books,  are  restrictive,  and  therefore  are 
not  set  off  by  commas. 

Further  examples: 

Unrestrictive.  The  old  man,  taking  a  seat  by  the  window, 
began. 

Restrictive.  That  old  man  taking  a  seat  by  the  window  is 
Grimes. 

Unrestrictive.  This  peculiar  old  house,  which  Jack  built.  Is 
famous  in  story.  (Identified  by  "this  peculiar  old";  the  clause 
"which  Jack  built"  is  unnecessary  for  identification.) 


ENGLISH  COMPOSITION.  27 

Restrictive.  (1)  The  house  that  Jack  built  is  famous  in  story. 
("That  Jack  built"  is  necessary  to  indicate  what  house  you  mean. 
Hence  it  is  restrictive  and  must  not  be  set  off  by  commas. 

(2)  This  is  the  cow  that  tossed  the  dog  that  worried 
the  cat  that  killed  the  rat  that  ate  the  malt  that  lay  in  the  house 
that  Jack  built.  (Nc  commas  used,  because  all  the  clauses  are 
needed  to  identify  the  objects  they  modify.) 

Unrestrictive.  He  goes  to  school,  where  he  is  kept  out  of 
mischief. 

Restrictive.  He  goes  to  a  school  where  he  is  kept  out  of 
mischief. 

Note.  Sometimes  a  clause  that  Is  really  restrictive  is  set 
off  by  commas  when  it  is  inverted  in  the  sentence  pr  is  some 
distance  from  the  word  it  modifies. 

Ex.  When  he  feels  so  disposed,  he  goes  to  school.  But — He 
goes  to  school  when  he  feels  so  disposed.  The  cow  with  the 
crumpled  horn,  that  tossed  the  dog. 

III.  It  indicates  omission — especially  of  the  verb,  in  contracted 
expressions. 

Ex.    During  our  first  year  vte  study  algebra  and  ancient  history; 
during  the  second  year,  geometry  and  modern  history. 

IV.  It  is  used  to  preserve  clearness  or  make  the  meaning 
plain,  where  no  definite  rule  applies. 

Examples:  (1)  Before  a  verb  when  the  subject  is  remote 
and  another  verb  intervenes — ''The  man  who  perseveres  and  who 
keeps  persevering,  will  succeed.  (2)  To  indicate  that  a  modifier 
applies  to  only  one  of  several  words — "The  man,  and  the  woman 
with  the  baby-carriage,  were  nearly  run  over."  "rie  fell,  and  rose 
easily."  The  modifiers,  "with  a  baby-carriage"  and  "easily",  modify 
only  "woman"  and  "rose";  they  and  the  words  they  modify  are 
therefore  set  off  by  commas  to  Indicate  that  they  do  not  also  modify 
"man."  and  "fell." 

EXERCISES. 

Punctuate,  and  givo  reasons  for  the  use  of  commas  and  capitals: 

1.  come  albert  and  bring  your  note  book  pen  and  Ink 

2.  I  went  down  the  road  he  said  and  seated  by  the  fence  i 
saw  an  old  tramp. 

3.  the  man  sitting  on  the  fence  was  a  tramp. 

4.  the  old  man  slowly  seating  himself  on  the  fence  said  1  will 
go  no  further. 


28  ENGLISH  COMPOSITION. 

5.  that  brick  houae  over  there  which  my  father  built  is  forty 
years  old 

6.  my  old  college  friend  John  jackson  is  here 

7.  my  friend  jackson  Is  here 

8.  we  could  not  cross  the  bridge  being  down. 

9.  this  i  hope  will  keep  you  busy  yes  i  know  it  will 

10.  you  are  going  to  Chicago  and  will  return  tomorrow 

11.  you  are  going  to  Chicago  and  so  i  will  return  tomorrow 

12.  good  morning  sir  he  said  are  you  well  strong  and  hearty 

13.  this  is  my  brothers  report  card  which  he  thought  he  had  lost 

14.  some  of  the  students  said  that  it  was  white  others  that  it 
was  yellow 


Lesson  XVI. 


I.  Turn  to  some  page  of  your  history  text  book  designated  by 
your  teacher,  and  explain  the  uses  of  all  the  commas  on  that  and 
the  next  page. 

II.  Punctuate  the  following,  paragraphing,  also  whei^e 
necessary : 

Utopia  i,llinois  november  2  1909 
my  dear  mother 

it  Is  a  cold  gloomy  and  stormy  day  as  i  sit  here  at  my  window 
and  begin  my  regular  weekly  letter  home  looking  from  my  window 
i  see  a  few  discouraged  pedestrians  who  have  been  bold  enough  to 
face  the  storm  that  almost  overwhelms  them  the  wind  seems  to  say 
stay  in  the  house  you  foolish  people  but  .evidently  they  have 
business  abroad  well  1  have  got  pretty  well  started  in  my  work 
at  the  Utopia  high  school  and  begin  to  feel  entirely  at  home  the 
school  certainly  offers  a  good  course  of  study  and  i  mean  to  get 
as  much  out  of  it  as  i  can  excuse  this  blot  my  pen  slipped 
how  are  father  and  joe  are  they  still  in  the  country  gracious  the 
clock  is  striking  six  and  i  must  go  down  to  supper  or  i  will  miss 
out  at  the  first  table  i  am  feeling  very  well  indeed  as  1  hope  you 
all  are  with  much  love  to  all  of  you  not  forgetting  fido  as  ^ver 
your  devoted  daughter  grace 


ENGLISH  COMPOSITION.  29 

Lesson  XVII.— Other  Punctuation  Marks, 

We  shall  not  go  into  rahmte  detail  at  present  in  the  matter  of 
other  punctuation  marks  than  the  comma,  but  we  shall  consider  a 
few  simple  usages. 

The  Semicolon. 

1.  Separates  clauses  of  a  compound  sentence  when  the  con- 
junctions are  omitted. 

Example.  The  day  was  rainy;  we  did  not  have  a  good 
time.     (See  Lesson  VI,  Section  5.) 

2.  Separates  clauses  of  a  compound  sentence  even  when  con- 
junctions are  expressed,  if  the  clauses  are  rather  long  or  are  them- 
selves cut  up  by  commas. 

Example.  The  student  who  studies  Latin,  other  things 
being  equal,  will  generally  excel  in  his  English;  but  the  student 
who  picks  out  what  he  considers  easy  studies  will  usually  fail 
even  in  these. 

3.  Separates  clauses  connected  by  such  conjunctive  adverbs 
as  "therefore",  "hence",  "then",  "however",  and  the  like. 

Example.  I  did  not  study  during  the  year;  therefore 
you  behold  these  tears  at  examination  time. 

4.  Precedes  "as",  '"namely",  "viz." 

Example.  There  are  three  branches  of  the  subject; 
namely,  civics,  economics,  and  sociology. 

5.  Separates  dependent  expressions,  having  a  common  de- 
pendence. 

Example.  He  maintained  that  such  a  course  was 
unnecessary;  that,  furthermore,  it  was  impolitic;  and  that  it  would 
lead  to  disastrous  results. 

The  Colon. 
The  colon  is  used — 

1.  Mainly  as  a  means  of  formal  Introduction.  It  seems  to 
say  "as  follows",  belore  a  statement,  a  quotation,  an  enumeration, 
or  the  like,  when  formally  introduced. 

Example.  The  comma  has  four  important  functions: 
to  separate,  to  set  off,  etc.  His  statement  was  as  follows:  I  wish 
to  present  the  following  resolutions: 

2.  Sometimes  to  separate  clauses,  themselves  tubdivided  by 
semicolons. 


so  ENGLISH  COMPOSITION. 

The  Dash, 

The  dash  Is  used — 

1.  To  mark  an  abrupt  break  in  the  sentences. 

Example.  I  want  to  see — why,  where  did  you  come 
from? 

2.  Before  an  expression  that  sums  up  what  has  preceded. 

Example.  Home,  family,  friends,  business  interests, — 
all  these  he  gave  up  for  the  cause. 

3.  Before  an  afterthought,  added  abruptly. 

Example.  He  was  a  perfect  orator — a,  second  edition 
of  Webster,  so  to  speak. 

4.  In  various  ways  to  introduce  examples,  illustrations, 
enumerations,  tables,  etc.,  especially  if  the  sentence  ends  on  one 
line  and  the  enumeration  follows  on  the  next. 

For  example,   see  the  first  sentence  under  this  section. 

5.  Some  students  thhik  that  the  dash  may  be  used  for  almost 
any  mark  of  punctuation,  and  so  they  sprinkle  their  compositions 
freely  with  dashes  wtere  commas,  or  even  periods,  ought  to  be. 
This,  of  course,  Is  absurd. 

Parentheses. 

Marks  of  parenthesis  are  used  to  set  off  parenthetical  matter 
that  is  too  disconnected  to  be  set  off  by  commas.  Very  frequently 
dashes  are  used  in  place  of  parenthesis  marks. 

Two  points  need  a  little  attention: 

1.  Whatever  mark  would  be  required  in  the  sentence  after 
the  word  immediately  preceding  the  paranthesis  if  there  were  no 
parenthiesis,  should  be  placed  after  the  second  parenthesis  mark, 
not  before  the  parentheses  or  within  them. 

Example.  He  told  nie  his  whole  history,  of  his  own 
accord  (you  know  I  wouldn't  ask  him),  and  I  told  him  your  history 
in  return. 

2.  Do  not  use  the  marks  of  parenthesis  to  "strike  out",  or 
cancel,  a  word  or  expression.  Draw  a  line  through  the  expression 
Instead. 

Example.  Incorrect— I  want  to  (take)  bring  my  dog 
with  me.    Draw  a  line  through  'take"  Instead  of  using  parentheses. 


ENGLISH  COMPOSITION.  31 

Quotation   Marks. 

1.  For  the  main  rule  for  quotation  marks,  see  Leson  IV. 

2.  Whether  a  question  or  an  exclamation  mark  should  be  placed 
before  or  after  the  quotation  marks  when  both  follow  the  same 
word,  depends  upon  whether  the  question  or  exclamation  mark 
belongs  to  the  quotation  or  to  the  sentence  containing  the  quotation. 

Exami^le.  He  cried  out  "Where  are  you?"  The 
question  mark  belongs  to  the  quotation.  Did  he  cry  out,  "I  am 
struck"?  Here  the  question  mark  belongs  to  the  sentence,  not  to 
the  quotation. 

3.  Do  not  quote  an  indirect  quotation. 

Incorrect — He  said  "that  none  but  boys  could  come  in." 
Correct — He  said  that  none  but  boys  could  come  In. 

Miscellaneous    Marlts. 

Without  going  into  an  extended  discussion  let  us  note  a  few 
cautions  regarding  other  punctuation  marks. 

1.  Be  sure  to  use  the  apostrophe,  when  the  noun  is  In  in  the 
possessive  case,  and  be  sure  to  notice  whether  yoiu"  noun  is  singular 
or  plural.  Of  course  in  the  latter  case,  as  you  know,  the  apostrophe 
follows  the  s,  if  the  plural  ends  in  "s".  If  the  plural  does  not 
end  in  "s",  and  in  the  singular,  the  apostrophe  precedes  the  "s". 

Example.  Boys'  and  men's  clothing.  A  lady's  hand- 
kerchief.    Illinois  Teachers'  Association. 

Always  form  your  nominative  plural  first,  before  adding  the 
apostrophe. 

Example.    Ladies'  gloves  (not  ladle's  gloves). 

2.  If  the  singular  ends  in  "s",  the  possessive  is  formed,  not 
by  putting  an  apostrophe  before  the  "s,"  but  by  placing  after  the 
"s"  either  the  apostrophe  or  the  apostrophe  and  "s". 

Either  Dickens'  works,  or  Dickens's  works,  but  not 
Dicken's  works.    Mr.  Hughes's  dog. 

3.  No  apostrophe  i»  used  in  its,  yours,  hers,  theirs,  or  ours* 

4.  In  using  the  Hyphen,  never  divide  a  monosyllable^. 
Especially  be  careful  to  avoid  dividing  the  ed  from  the  rest  of  the 
word  at  the  end  of  a  line,  when  the  whole  word  is  a  monosyllable 
like  "turned",  "walked",  "forced",  and  the  like. 


32  ENGLISH  COMPOSITION. 


Lesson  XVIIL 


Turn  to  some  page  of  one  of  your  text  books  designated  by 
your  teacher  and  explain  the  uses  of  all  the  punctuation  marks  on 
that  and  the  next  page.  Be  able  to  rewrite  the  pages  correctly 
punctuated,  when  your  teacher  dictates  them  to  you. 


Lesson  XIX, 


Write  a  composition  of  300  or  400  words  on  "My  Troubles  with 
Punctuation  Marks",  or  "My  Chief  Sins  in  Punctuation",  or  "The 
Punctuation  Marks  Go  on  a  Picnic",  or  "Mrs  Comma  Entertains  in 
Honor  of  Mrs.  Period",  or  a  similar  subject,  in  which  you  can 
incidentally  or  otherwise  introduce  some  of  the  rules  of  punctuation. 


Lesson  XX.—Spelling. 


Some  persons  maintain  that  the  ability  to  spell  well  is  a  natural 
gift,  and  that  there  are  some  very  intelligent  persons  who  can 
never  learn  to  spell.  This  latter  statement  is  foolish;  all  persons 
of  intelligence  can  learn  to  spell. 

Any  one  can  learn  to  spell  with  reasonable  correctness,  if  he 
will— 

(1)  Acquire  a  clear-cut  and  certain  understanding  of  the 
phonetic  (sound)  value  of  letters. 

(2)  Develop  correct  habits  af  (a)  observing;  (b)  remembering; 
(c)  practicing  the  spelling  of  words. 

(3)  Learn  and  remember  a  few  rules  or  cautions  with  respect 
to  the  spelling  of  certain  types  of  words  as  follows : 

RULES,   OR   CAUTIONS, 

1.  Pronunciation.  Note  carefully  certain  words  in  which 
letters  or  syllables  are  frequently  mispronounced,  slurred,  or 
inserted,  in  speaking. 


ENGLISH  COMPOSITION.  33 

Examples,  Laboratory,  government,  temperament, 
temperature,  history,  nominative,  beneficent,  sacrilegious,  athletics, 
tremendous,  portentous,  covetous,  mischievous. 

2.  Derivation.  Attention  to  the  derivation  of  certain  words 
will  fix  their  spelling  in  the  mind. 

Examples.  Dis-appoint,  dis-appear,  dis-satisfied,  (all 
formed  with  "dis"  prefixed  to  a  complete  English  word),  re-com- 
mend, preparation  (prepare),  desi>erate  ("spero",  hope),  de-scribe 
( scr ibeo-wr ite ;  de-down ) . 

3.  Transposing  of  letters.  In  some  words  there  seems  to  be 
a  perverse  tendency  to  transpose,  or  change  the  position  of,  certain 
letters;  note  carefully  the  exact  spelling  of  such  words,  and  in  what 
syllables  the  troublesome  letters  occur. 

Examples.  Permanent,  tragedy,  religion,  origin,  origi- 
nal, deity,  maintenance. 

4.  Repeated  letters.  In  some  words  where  letters  or  syllables 
are  repeated,  careless  people  sometimes  omit  the  repetition. 

Examples.     Possession,   assassinate,  repetition. 

5.  Final  "y"  before  suffix. 

(a)  Before  any  suffix  except  "i",  final  "y"  after  a 
consonant  changes  to  "i".  Examples.  Married,  marriage,  merri- 
ment;    but-  marrying. 

(b)  Before  any  suffix,  final  "y"  after  a  voWel  remains 
"y".    Examples.     Playing,  played,  playful,  employment. 

6.  Final  "e,"  silent. 

(a)  Is  dropped  before  a  suffix  beginning  with  a  vowel. 
Examples.    Tame,  taming;  mate,  mating. 

(b)  Is  retained  before  a  suffix  beginning  with  a  con- 
Ronaut. 

Examples.    Use-ful,  pale-ness. 

(c)  Exceptions. 

(1)  Termination  "ie"  changes  to  "y"  before  "I"; 
Example.    Die,  dying. 

(2)  Termination  "ce"  and  "ge"  retain  "e"  before 
"a,"  "o,"  "u,"  to  preserve  the  soft  sound  of'c"  and  "g";  Examples, 
Peace-able,  courage-oue. 

(3)  "dge"  drops  "e"  before  "ment";  Example, 
Judgment. 

7.  Doubled  consonants. 

(a)     Monosyllables  and  polysyllables  accented  on 


34  ENGLISH    COMPOSITION. 

the  last  syllable,  ending  in  a  single  consonant,  double,  the  conso- 
nant before  a  vowel  suffix. 

Examples.     Drop,   dropping;    transfer,  transferring. 

(b)  Polysyllables  not  accented  on  last  syllable 
are  not  usually  doubled  before  such  suffixes;  Examples.  Differing, 
preference. 

8.  Long  and  short  sound  of  vowel. 

In  the  words  discussed  in  (6)  and  (7),  the  sound 
of  the  vowel  will  guide  you  in  the  spelling.  If  the  vowel  sound 
is  short,  you  may  feel  reasonably  sure  the  consonant  is  doubled; 
Examples.  Matting,  robbing,  (exception,  "giving").  If  it  is  long, 
there  is  but  one  consonant;     Examples.     Mating,  robing. 

9.  Hard  "c"  and  "g." 

Before  an  "e"  or  "J"  suffix,  words  ending  in  "c" 
insert  "k",  and  words  ending  in  "g"  double  the  "g",  to  preserve 
the  original  sounds  of  these  letters.  Examples.  Picnic,  picnicking; 
dig,  digger. 

10.  Words  ending  In  "ly". 

(a)  Have    two    "I's"    when    the    "ly"    is    added    to    a 
woi'd  already  ending  in  "I."    Examples.     Moral-ly,  re^l-ly. 

(b)  Otherwise,   they   have    only   one    "I."       Examples. 
Merrily,  truly,  prettily. 

11.  Words  ending  in  "ality",  w'ere  formed  by  adding  "Ity", 
not  "lity",  to  words  ending  in  "al";  hence  they  have  only  one  "I". 
Examples.     Morality,  reality. 

12.  Words  ending  In  "ous". 

Drop  "u"  before  "ity".  Examples.  Monstrosity, 
generosity,  curiosity 

13.  Combination  "el"  and  "le". 

In  this  combination,  "e"  usually  foUoArs  "c"  and  "I" 
follows  other  letters.     Examples.     Receive,  believe,  brief,  deceive. 

14.  Combination  "la"  or  "al";  no  need  of  confusing  them. 
The  combination  "la"  Is  pronounced  "ya". ..  Example,  Christian. 
Hence,  imless  the  pronunciation  Is  "ya",  spell  with  "al";  example, 
Britain. 

15.  Terminations  "ance"  and  "ence",  "ant"  and  "ent". 

These  are  very  troublesome.  If  you  have  studied  Latin, 
it  will  help  somewhat  if  you  remembeft*  that  "ance"  and  "ant" 
termhiatlons  usually  come  from  Latin  verbs  of  the  first  conjugation 
(vowel  "a"),  "ence"  and  "ent"  terminations  frotoi  verbs  of  the  other 
conjugations  (vow«l  "e"). 


ENGLISH  COMPOSITION.  35 

Examples.  Constant  (from  "constare"),  but  consistent 
(from  "consistere"),  superintendent  ("Intendere"),  perseverance 
("perseverare"). 

16.  Terminations  "ise"  or  "ize",  "able"  or  "ibie",  "ar"  or  "er", 
"el"  or  "le"  or  "al"  or  "11".  Troublesome,  but  have  to  be  learned 
by  close  observation.  Examples.  Advertise,  civilize,  surprise, 
probable,  forcible;  calendar,  cylinder;  level,  meddle,  medal,  civil, 
nickel. 

17.  Termination   "ed",   in  past  tense. 

Careless  writers  sometimes  omit  the  "ed"  of  the  past 
tense.  Guard  against  this  common  error.  Example,  "When  I 
came  to  the  house  I  turn  around  and  walk  back",  for  "turned"  and 
"walked." 

There  are  exceptions  to  several  of  the  foregoing  rules,  but 
these  exceptions  are  best  learned  by  observation,  and  by  noting  that 
they  are  exceptions,  as  you  have  occasion  to  see  and  use  them. 


Lesson  XXI. 


Be  sure  you  can  spell  all  the  words  given  as  examples 
In  Lesson  XX.  After  you  have  learned  them,  spell  them  from 
dictation  by  your  teacher. 


Lesson  XXIL 


The  three  spelling  lessons  that  follow  need  not  be  assigned 
consecutively  if  the  teacher  desires  to  distribute  them  through  the 
course. 

Spell  the  following  words: 

abbreviate                     arithmetic  dally 

accept^                        association  dairy 

accomodate                   arrive  experiment 

accident                        ascend  decreased 

accidentally                  awkward  deceased, 

accompanying               automobile  defendant 

accumulate                    auxiliary  definite 


36 


ENGLISH    COMPOSITION. 


accusative 

ache 

achieve 

acknowledge 

acknowledgment 

acquaintance 

acre 

address 

admiring 

admissable 

advantageous 

advertise 

advertisement 

afraid 

agreeable 

all  right 

almost 

already 

altogether 

always 

angel 

angle 

amount 

apparatus 

apparent 

appearance 

arrange 


balance 

becoming 

benefit 

bicycle 

boundary 

bureau 

business 

botany 

capital 

capitol 

carriage 

ceiling 

characteristic 

choose 

chose 

changeable 

chimney 

coming 

commit 

cohitnn 

committee 

confectionery 

consent 

conscience 

contemptible 

comparative 

chemistry 


develop 

development 

difference 

dining  room 

despair 

disciple 

discipline 

dissatisfaction 

divisible 

domestic 

druggist 

eighth 

eighteen 

eligible 

embarrass 

etc. 

excellent 

enemies 

envelope  (noun) 

equivalent 

equal 

excel 

except 

existence 

excitement 


Lesson  XXIIL 


Spell  the  following  words: 


fatal 

indestructible 

messenger 

fascinate 

individual 

month 

February 

infinite 

moreover 

fiend 

insignificant 

much 

foreign 

intelligent 

muscle 

formally 

Intellectual 

mystery 

formerly 

intimate 

murmuring 

forty 

invitation 

mountainous 

forty-five 

inviting 

naturally 

ENGLISH  COMPOSITION. 


37 


fourteen 

irregular 

necessary 

freight 

irresistible 

necessarily 

fulfill 

isthmus 

necessity 

genitive 

itself 

nervous 

grammar 

its 

niece 

grievous 

judgment 

ninety 

guard 

knowledge 

ninth 

gymnasium 

lead   (noun) 

noticeable 

handkerchief 

led  (verb) 

occasion 

hauled 

laid 

occasionally 

height 

later 

occur 

hear,  here 

latter 

offered 

hoping 

lightning 

occurred,   occurring 

honorable 

loose 

officer 

hugely 

lose 

operate 

humor 

losing 

opportunity 

humorous 

lying 

opposite 

hundred 

making 

original 

hurrying 

many 

organization 

Imaginary 

mapped 

origin 

immediately 

mathematics 

oneself 

impossible 

mediaeval 

outrageous 

improbable 

medicine 

incident 

merely 

indispensable 

meant 

Lesson  XXIV. 


Spell  the  following: 


parallel 

receipt 

stopped 

parallelogram 

recipe 

studying 

paralysis 

recollect 

studies 

parliament 

reference 

succeed 

partner 

rehearsal 

success 

particularly 

released 

such 

people 

relief 

surprise 

penitentiary 

representative 

sure 

perform 

religious 

suspicious 

persecute 

residence 

syllable 

perspiration 

responsible 

sympathy 

persuade 

revenue 

their 

38 


ENGLISH  COMPOSITION. 


physiology 

rhyme 

their 

physics 

ridiculous 

thoroughly 

piece 

rhythm 

through 

pitiful 

running 

therefore 

planned 

rhetoric 

till 

poison 

safety 

totally 

possessive 

salary 

truly 

potatoes 

satire 

together 

practicing 

satyr 

twelfth 

prejudice 

scenery 

too 

precede 

sentence 

Tuesday 

preference 

seize 

until 

prevalent 

sensible 

vegetable 

principal  (adj.) 

sensitive 

view 

principle    (rule) 

separation 

village 

prisoner 

separate 

villain 

privilege 

simile 

volume 

proceed 

simultaneous 

weak   (adj.) 

professor 

similar 

weather 

pronunciation 

sophomore 

Wednesday 

prosecute 

sociable 

whether 

pursue 

souvenir 

weighed 

prove 

specimen 

which 

quantity 

speech 

writing 

quiet 

stationary  (adj.) 

woman 

quotation 

stationery   (noun) 

women 

quotient 

statistics 

zoology 

recognize 

stretch 

Lesson  XXV.-Letter  WHHng. 


You  have  no  doubt  written  a  good  many  ^letters  and  have  been 
drilled  considerably  in  letter  writing,  but  a  little  review  will  serve 
to  call  attention  to  certain  necessary  points. 

Parts  of  a  Letter. 
A  formal   letter,  as  distinguished  from  an  informal  letter  of 
friendship  has  the  following  parts: 

1.    The    Heading. 

(a)  It  consists  of  the  place  and  date  of  writing. 

(b)  It  is  written  at  the  upper  right  hand  comer,  in  one,  two, 


ENGLISH  COMPOSITION.  30 

or  three  lines  according  to  its  length-  If  no  street  address  is  given, 
one  line  is  generajily  sufficient.  If  two  lines  are  needed,  the  street 
direction  and  place  should  be  written  on  the  first  line;  the  date,  on 
the  second.  If  three  lines  are  needed,  write  street  direction  on 
tne  nrst,  place  on  the  second,  date  on  the  third. 
Examples. 

(1)  Utopia,   Illinois,   August   10,   1909 

(2)  708   Illington  Avenue, 

Utopia,  Illinois,  August  10,  1909. 

(3)  1012  Eighteenth  Street, 

South  Ludington,  Maine, 
August  10,  1909. 

(c)     Notice  certain  points  illustrated,  in  (b). 

1.  The  best  modern  usage  avoids  all  abbreviations;  note  that 
"street",  "avenue",  "Illinois",  "Maine",  "Eighteenth",  and  "August" 
are  all  spelled  out  in  full,  not  abbreviated.  Sometimes  in  business 
letters  this  rule  is  not  observed  strictly,  but  even  here  its  obser- 
vance is  better. 

2.  The  form  "August  10"  is  the  correct  form;  not  "August 
10th",  or  "8-10-'09."  Do  not  add  "d",  "rd",  "st",  or  "th"  to  the 
number  of  the  day  of  the  month. 

3.  The  several  parts  are  separated  by  commas,  even  if  they 
are  on  different  lines,  and  a  period  is  placed  at  the  close  of  the 
heading. 

2.    The   Address. 

(a)  It  consists  of  the  name  and  address  of  the  person 
written  to. 

(b)  It  is  usually  written  in  two  lines.  The  first  line,  the 
name,  is  written  even  with  the  left-hand  margin  and  a  line  or  so 
below  the  heading.  The  second  line,  the  place,  should  be  to  the 
right  of  the  first  line,  beginning  at  about  the  middle  of  the  first 
Une. 

Example. 

Utopia,  Illinois, 
August  10,  1909. 
Messrs.  A.  H.  Banks  &  Co., 

Chicago,  Illinois. 

(c)  Notice  that  in  the  address  (1)  courtesy  requires  that  the 
title   (Ex.   "Messrs.")    precede  the  name;    (2)    the  street  address 


40  ENGLISH  COMPOSITION. 

need  not  be  given;  (3)  if  no  street  address  is  given  the  entire 
address  proper  ("Ctiicago,  Illinois")  is  written  on  one  line;  (4)  the 
name  of  the  state  should  not  be  abbreviated;  (5)  the  last  line  is 
followed  by  a  period,  the  first  line  and  other  lines  before  the  last, 
if  there  are  any,  by  commas. 

(d)  Courtesy  requires  that  no  titles  should  be  abbreviated 
except  Mr.,  Mrs.,  Messrs.,  and  Dr.  Spell  out  other  titles,  such  as. 
President,  Professor,  General.  It  is  courteous  also,  not  to  omit 
"the",  where  it  is  a  part  of  the  name;  as,  "The  University  of 
Chicago",  "The  Fidelity  Company." 

3.      The  Salutation. 

(a)  It  is  a  conventional  form  like  "Dear  Sir",  "My  dear 
Madam",  "Gentlemen",  placed  before  the  body  of  the  letter. 

(b)  It  Is  written  even  with  the  left-hand  margin  and  even  with 
the  first  line  of  the  address. 


Example. 


Utopia,  Illinois, 

August  10,  1909. 


Mr.  James  Doogan, 

Larson,  Oklahoma. 
My  dear  Sir: 

(c)  Notice  (1)  that  the  first  word  and  all  nouns  of  the 
salutation  are  capitaUized ;  but  (2)  that  an  adjective  like  "dear", 
unless  It  is  at  the  beginning,  is  not  capitalized;  (3)  that  the 
salutation  is  followed  by  a  colon  in  formal  letters,  by  a  comma  in 
informal  or  less  formal  letters. 

(d)  Forms  of  the  salutation  for  a  formal  letter  are: 
Sir:  or  Madam:  (almost  coldly  formal). 

My  dear  Sir:  or  My  dear  Madam:  (less  formal). 
Dear  Sir:  or  Dear  Madam:   (still  less  formal) 
My  dear  Mr.,  or  Mrs.  Smith,  (still  less  formal) 
Dear  Mr.,  or  Mrs.  Smith,  (least  formal) 
Dear  Sirs: 
Gentlemen : 

The  foregoing  salutations  are  arranged  in  the  order  of  their 
formality,  the  most  formal  first. 

(e)  "Madam"  Is  used  for  both  married  and  unmarried  women. 
It  seems  awkward  and  Inconsistent  for  the  latter,  but  there  is  no 
substitue  except  the  name  of  the  young  woman  addressed;  of 
course  "Dear  Miss"  would  be  insufferably  vulgar.    After  the  first 


ENGLISH  COMPOSITION.  41 

exchange  of  letters,  unless  the  letters  were  very  formal  business 
letters,  the  second  letter  could  perhaps  be  addressed  "My  dear  Miss 
Brown"'.  "Gentlemen"  or  "Dear  Sirs"  is  the  salutation  for  a  firm. 
"Gentlemen"  is  probably  the  better  of  the  two  expressions. 

4).       The  Body  of  the  Letter. 

(a)  It  should  be  clear,  direct,  courteous,  and  simple. 

(b)  Avoid  such  hackneyed  phrases  as  "your  favor",  "the 
same",  "said  order",  "herewith",  "hand  you"  (for  "enclose"), 
"yours    of   the    9th   received",    "thanking   you    in    advance",    "and 

.oblige",  "I  beg  to  remain".  They  used  to  be  considered  very 
business-like,  but  the  best  present  uisage  is  against  them.  Say, 
"I  have  your  letter  of  August  9.  In  reply,  permit  me  to  say,"  or 
"In  reply — the  shipment  was  made,  etc." 

(c)  In  the  body  of  the  letter,  do  not  abbreviate  words  that 
you  would  not  abbreviate  in  any  other  form  of  composition  (for 
example,  "mo."  for  "month",  "Mr.  G."  for  "Mr.  Grimes",  "Gin."  for 
"Cincinnati"),  and  do  not  omit  pronouns  and  articles  (for  example, 
"Will  enclose  check"  for  "I  will  enclose  a  check";  "Consignment 
received"  for  "Your  consignment  was  received").  Such  expres- 
sions sound  entirely  too  flippant  for  even  our  rapid  business 
methods. 

5.      The  Complimentary  Close. 

(a)  It  is  a  conventionaj  expression  like  "Yours  truly"  or 
"Respectfully  yours",  at  the  close  of  the  letter,  before  the  signature. 

(b)  It  is  written  on  a  separate  line  below  the  last  line  of  the 
body  of  the  letter,  beginning  near  the  middle  of  the  line. 

Example. 

Very  truly  yoiyrs, 

James  Jefferson. 

(c)  Notice  (1)  that  it  begins  with  a  capital  letter  but  that 
no  words  but  the  first  are  capitalized;  (2)  that  it  is  followed  by  a 
comma. 

(d)  Various  forms  for  formail  letters  are:  "Yours  truly", 
"Yours  very  truly",  "Yours  respectfully",  (not  "respectively"), 
"Very  truly  yours",  "Respectfully  yours." 

(e)  Do  not  write  simply  "Yours",  or  "Yours  etc.",  and  do  not 
abbreviate  "yours"  into  "y'rs",  or  "respectfully"  into  "resp'y".  Do 
not  write  "I  am"  or  "and  oblige"  (if  you  lyse  it)  or  "as  ever",  on  a 
separate  line,  but  incorporate  them  In  the  body  of  the  Jetter.  The 
comp^limentary  close  should  occupy  only  one  line. 


42  ENGLISH  COMPOSITION. 

6.    The  Signature. 

(a)  It  is  the  name  of  the  writer. 

(b)  It  should  be  written  on  the  Jine  below  the  complimentary 
close,  beginning  almost  at  the  middle  of  the  complimentary  close 
and  extending  beyond  it  to  the  right. 

(c)  In  a  formal  letter,  write  your  signature  as  you  expect  to 
be  addressed,  except  that  a  woman  signs  with  her  Christian  name 
as  well  as  her  surname  (Mary  B.  Graves).  Therefore  if  she  is 
writing  to  a  stranger  it  will  be  necessary  for  her  to  indicate  in 
some  way  how  she  is  to  be  addressed,  whether  "Miss"  or  "Mrs.", 
and  if  the  latter,  her  husbands  initials;  this  may  be  done  by  writing 
in  parentheses  under  the  signature  or  in  the  lower  left-hand 
corner.  "Address:  Miss  Mary  B.  Graves",  or  "Mrs.  J.  G.  Graves", 
as  the  case  may  be. 

7.    The  Superscription. 

(a)  This  is  the  address  on  the  envelope. 

(b)  Observe  the  same  rules  for  this  as  for  the  inside  address, 
except  that  the  street  direction  must  be  given.  Special  pains 
should  be  taken  to  make  the  superscription  plain. 

Example. 

The  Fidelity  Company, 

815  Safety  Street, 

Baltimore, 

Maryland. 

(c)  Notice  (1)  that  abbreviations  are  to  be  avoided;  (2)  that 
the  different  parts  (including  the  state  name)  occupy  separate 
lines,  each  a  little  further  to  the  right  than  the  preceding;  (3)  that 
the  diflerent  parts  are  followed  by  commas,  except  the  last,  which 
is  followed  by  a  period. 

(d)  Some  consider  the  form  in  (b)  as  old  fashioned,  but  it 
has  the  advantage  of  clearness  and  of  long  established 
usage.  Some  prefer  to  omit  all  punctuation  marks, 
some  begin  all  the  lines  on  the  same  margin  as  the  first  lino, 
writing  the  city  and  state  names  on  the  same  line.  Any  of  these 
ways  has  good  authority,  but  some  of  them  seem  "freakish". 


Lesson  XXVI. 

1.  Write  a  letter  to  he  publishers  of  your  history  text  book 
ordering  a  copy  of  the  book  and  sending  payment  for  the  book. 
In  writing  amounts  of  money  be  careful  to  use  a  form  like  this. 


ENGLISH  COMPOSITION.  43 

(1)  "one  dollar  and  fifty  cents"  or  simply  "$1.50" — ^not  "One  dollar 
($1.50)  and  Fifty  cents";  (2)  "two  hundred  (200)  dollars",  or 
"$200,"— not  "two  hundred   ($200)    dollars. 

2.  Write  to  the  First  National  Bank  of  America,  at  910 
Broadway,  St.  Louis,  applying  for  a  position  as  stenographter. 
Remember  that  letters  of  application  should  state:  (1)  the  position 
that  you  are  applying  for;  (2)  the  general  facts  about  you  that  an 
employer  would  want  to  know;  (3)  your  special  qualifications  for 
the  place  you  seek;  (4)  references.  Make  the  letter  clear,  straight- 
forward, business  like,  simple,  and  modest.  Do  not  make  it  too 
formal. 

3.  Suppose  you  were  commissioned  to  order  some  athletics 
or  gymnasium  supplies;  write  to  A.  G.  Spalding  &  Bros.,  Chicago, 
ordering  the  goods.  In  ordering  several  items,  tabulate  your  order; 
that  is,  write  the  several  items  on  separate  lines,  indicating  clearly 
the  amount  and  character  of  each  item.  Ask  flor  a  discount.  State 
when  you  will  remit. 


Lesson  XXVII.— Informal  Letters. 


The  directions  discussed  in  Lesson  XXV  had  reference  to 
formal  letters.  In  the  main,  the  same  rules  apply  to  informal 
letters,  or  letters  of  friendship,  but  with  some  exceptions,  as 
follows : 

1.  The  inside  address  is  often  omitted  in  informal  letters,  or 
is  written  at  the  lower  left-hand  corner  at  the  close  of  the  letter. 

2.  The  salutation  is,  of  course,  less  formal,  and  usually 
includes  the  name  of  the  person  addressed ;  as,  "Dear  Miss  Graves", 
"Dear  Tom",  "My  dear  Grace",  "Dear  Father",  "My  dear  Jackson". 

3.  The  body  of  the  letter  is  naturally  of  a  nuore  easy  and 
conversational  style  than  that  of  a  formal  [letter,  but  it  should  not 
be  rambling  or  loose  or  careless  in  expression.  Do  not  use  much 
hackneyed  phrases  as,  "I  hardly  know  what  to  write",  "Well,  I 
must  close",  "I  guess  I  have  told  all  I  know".  Do  not  abbreviate, 
or  omit  necessary  words.  Be  courteous  and  not  too  confidential. 
Do  not  fill  your  letter  with  slang  or  with  foolish  sentiment,  or  with 
anything  that  you  might  be  ashamed  of  ten  years  afterward. 

4.  The  complimentary  close  is  more  familiar  and  cordial  thaja 
in  a  formal  letter.    Its  character  will  depend  upon  the  degree  of 


44  ENGLISH  COMPOSITION. 

intimacy  between  you  and  your  correspondent.  Good  forms  are 
"Sincerely  yours",  "Very  sincerely  yoi;irs",  "Faithfully  yours", 
"Cordially  yours",  "Your  loving  son",  "Lovingly",  "Devotedly". 

5.  Some  authorities  insist  that  the  full  name  should  be  signed 
to  an  informal  letter,  just  as  to  a  formal  letter.  This  is,  of  course, 
the  safest  way  in  case  the  letter  should  be  missent,  but  one  has  to 
use  one's  own  judgment.  If  the  writer  thinks  his  full  signature 
sounds  too  formal,  it  is  likely  he  will  sign  "Tom"  or  "Dick"  if  he 
wants  to. 

Exercises. 

1.  Write  a  letter  to  a  friend  describing  your  school  life. 

2.  Write  a  letter  asking  a  friend  to  visit  you,  and  te)flling  your 
plans  for  his  or  her  entertainment. 

Lesson  XXVIII.— Social  Correspondence. 

1.  Formal  notes  of  invitation,  regret,  and  the  like  are  written 
in  the  third  person  throughout.  The  word  "I"  is  never  found  in 
them,  and  the  word  "you"  or  "your"  only  in  invitations  to  large  and 
formal  social  gatherings.  The  writer  refers  to  himself  as 
"Mr. ",  and  to  the  persons  addressed  as  "Mr  .and  Mrs. ". 

2.  Note  (1)  that  such  notes  have  no  heading,  no  address,  no 
salutation,  no  complimentary  close,  no  signature;  (2)  that  the 
home  address  of  the  writer  of  an  invitation,  and  the  home  address 
and  the  day  of  the  week  or  of  the  month,  in  case  of  reply  may  be 
written  in  the  lower  left-hand  comer,  but  nothing  else;  (3)  that 
numbers  are  spelled  out  in  words,  not  written  as  figures;  (i)  that 
no  abbreviations  are  permissable  except  "Mr.",  "Mrs.",  or  "Dr." 
Be  careful  to  spell  out  the  word  "and";  do  not  use  the  plus  sign 
in  its  place.    Spell  out  the  abbreviation  "Prof.",  "Gen.",  "Col." 

3.  Forms. 

(a)  Invitation. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Theodore  Wilson  request  the  pleasure  of  Mr. 
Anson's  company,  on  Friday  evening,  June  the  twenty-fourth  (or 
the  twenty-fourth  of  June),  at  half  after  eight  o'clock. 

The  Elms.  Dancing. 

(b)  Acceptance. 

Mr.  Anson  accepts  with  pleasure  (or.  Is  pleased  to  accept)  the 
kind  invitation  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wilson,  for  Friday  evening,  June 
the  twenty-fourth,  at  half  after  eight  o'clock. 

910  Illington  Avenue, 
June  the  eighteenth. 


ENGLISH  COMPOSITION.  45 

(c)  Regrets. 

Mr.  Anson  regrets  that  he  is  unable  to  accept  the  very  kind 
invitation  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wilson  (or  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wilson's  very 
kind  invitation)  for  Friday  evening,  June  the  twenty-fourth. 

910  Illington  Avenue, 
June  the  eighteenth. 

(d)  Invitations. 

(1)  To  meet  Mrs.  Arthur  Radcliffe 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Horton  Thompson 

request  the  pleasure  of 

Mr.  Anson's 

company  at  dinner 

on  Tuesday,  February  fourth 

at  eight  o'clock 

705  Seventy-second  Street. 

(2)  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Horton  Thompson  request  the  pleasure  of  Mr. 
Anson's  company  at  dinner,  on  Tuesday,  February  the  Fourth,  at 
eight  o'clock. 

To   meet   Mr.   and  Mrs.   Arthur  Radcliffe, 

705  Seventy-second  Street. 

(3)  The   Class   of  Nineteen   Hundred   and  Twelve 

of 

The   Utopia   High   School 

requests  the  pleasure  of  your  presence  at  the 

Graduating   Exercises 

Thursday  evening,  June  the  seventh 

at  eight  o'clock 

the  Utopia  Theatre 

4.  For  afternoon  teas  or  card  parties  or  receptions  the  card 
of  the  hostess  is  frequently  used,  as  follows: 


Mrs.  James  Howe  Warden 


Wednesday,  December  eighth 

From  three  to  six. 

Bridge 


46  ENGLISH  COMPOSITION. 

(e)  It  must  be  noted  with  regard  to  alll  these  forms  that  slight 
changes  in  wording  will  occirr  from  year  to  year  at  the  whim  of 
fashion.  If  one  is  contemplating  a  large  entertainment  or  wedding, 
for  which  engraved  invitations  are  to  be  issued,  the  correct  form 
can  be  suggested  by  the  stationery  or  engraving  house. 

(f)  Note  (1)  that  in  writing  an  acceptance  the  hour  as  well  as 
the  day  should  be  included  (Form  b.) ;  (2)  that  in  writing  regrets 
no  reason  need  be  given  (Form  c),  though  some  persons  prefer  to 
insert  after  "that" — "owing  to  a  previous  engagement";  (3)  that 
the  verbs  must  be  in  the  present  tense  not  the  future;  as,  "regrets 
that  he  is  unable"  (not  "will  be"),  "is  pleased  to  accept"  (not  "will 
be  pleased");  (4)  that  the  word  is  "accept",  not  "•except"; 
(5)  that  in  very  formal  invitations  commas  and  periods  are  omitted 
at  the  ends  of  lines  (Form  d,  1,  3,  4.) 

5.     Some  Little  Points  of  Etiquette. 
The  following  are  matters  of  etiquette  rather  than  of  English 
composition;     still,  they  are  so  closely  associated  with  the  subject 
that  they  are  perhaps  not  amiss  here. 

(a)  Though  acceptances  and  regrets  are  worded  to  both  host 
and  hostess,  the  envelope  should  be  addressed  only  to  the  hostess. 
It  is  the  hostess  who  is  supposed  to  look  after  such  things. 

(b)  To  send  Invitations  by  messenger  is  considered  somewhat 
better  form,  but  often  this  is  impracticable,  and  it  is  perfectly 
allowable  to  send  them  by  mail.  Do  not  address  the  envelope 
"City",  write  the  name  of  the  town.  If  th«  invitation  is  sent  by 
messenger,  the  street  address  is  sufllcient,  and  the  name  of  the 
town  is  omitted. 

(c)  Replies  to  invitations  should  not  be  neglected.  The 
question  often  arises,  "Is  a  reply  necessary,  and  if  so,  of  what 
form?"    In  general  a  reply  Is  necessary  if  the  invitation  is  of  the 

form  that  "requests  the  pleasure  of  company".    In  replying, 

one  should  follow  closely  the  wording  of  the  invitation.  If  the 
invitation  is  formal  and  in  the  third  person,  the  reply  should  be  so, 
too.  If  the  invitation  is  an  informal  note  in  the  first  person  (See 
Lesson  XXIX)  the  reply  should  be  of  the  same  character. 

The  character  of  replies  to  various  kinds  of  invitations  is  as 
follows: 

(1).  Write  a  formal  reply  in  the  third  person.^To  formal 
invitations  to  dinner,  luncheon,  card  party,  theatre  party,  home 
wedding,  (direct  response  to  bride's  parents,  or  to  whoever  issues 
invitation),  wedding  breakfast,  commencement  exercises.  A  dinner 
invitation  should  be  answered  within  twenty-four  hours. 

(2)     Send  your  visiting  card  on  the  day  of  the  entertainment 


ENGLISH  COMPOSITION.  47 

if  you  do  not  attend;  if  you  do  attend,  no  reply  is  necessary. — 
Afternoon  tea,  church  wedding,  wedding  announcements  (cards  to 
bride's  parents,  sooon  after  receipt  of  announcement),  reception. 

If  one  is  very  intimate  with  the  person  who  issiues  the 
Invitation,  as  in  the  case  of  a  young  girl  about  to  be  graduated,  a 
little  informal  note  of  congratulation  is  a  very  proper  thing. 


Lesson  XXIX.— Informal  Notes. 


1.  It  frequently  happens  that  short  informal  notes  of  a  social 
character  have  to  be  written,  extending,  or  replying  to,  an  invitation, 
acknowledging  a  gift,  expressing  congratulations  or  sympathy,  and 
the  like.  These  notes  are  written  in  the  first  person,  addressed  in 
tl*e  second,  and  signed  by  the  writer.  To  be  able  to  write  such 
notes  in  a  simple,  graceful,  gracious,  and  courteous  manner  is 
well  worth  striving  for.     Simpiicity  and  courtesy  are  the  key-notes. 

2.  Such  notes  often  omit  some  of  the  parts  of  a  formal  business 
letter;  for  example,  the  day  of  the  month,  in  the  heading,  may  be 
written  out  and  the  year  omitted.  The  address  is  placed  at  the 
last  in  the  lower  left-hand  comer,  if  written  at  all.  The  salutation 
and  the  complimentary  close  would  be  similar  to  those  of  a  letter 
of  friendship.  No  set  rule  for  the  form  of  an  informant  note  can 
be  given.  Its  very  name  signifies  "of  no  set  form."  Its  expression 
is  determined  by  the  subject  and  by  the  circumstances  in  which 
it  is  written,  and  by  the  degree  of  intimacy  of  the  correspondents. 

3.  Forms  (not  to  be  followed  exactly,  of  course,  \>\Ji  merely 
suggestive.) 

(a)     Invitations. 

My  dear  Mr.  Dalton, 

My  mother  wishes  me  to  say  that  it  would  give  her  much 
pleasure  to  have  you  come  and  spend  Wednesday  evening,  October 
fourteenth,  with  us,  very  informally. 

We  are  inviting  a  few  friends  to  come  at  eight  o'clock  to  meet 
Miss  Ethel  Ross,  who  is  staying  with  us,  and  we  hope  that  you  will 
be  one  of  the  number. 

Yours  sincerely, 

Evelyn  Rate. 


48  ENGLISH  COMPOSITION. 

Dear  Caroline, 

The  girls  of  our  class  are  arranging  to  have  a  picnic  on  Saturday, 
June  eighth.  Each  one  of  us  is  entitled  to  invite  one  guest,  and  I 
hope  you  will  give  nie  the  pleasure  of  going  as  mine. 

We  shall  leave  by  steamer  from  the  Clay  Street  dock  at  ten 
In  the  morning.  If  you'  can  go,  as  I  hope  you  can,  I  will  call  for 
you  on  my  way  to  the  boat.  Perhaps  you  had  better  be  prepared 
for  stormy  weather. 

Sincerely, 

Helen  Dale. 

My  dear  Miss  Wrenu, 

Our  inter-class  track  meet  is  to  be  held  at  the  Driving  Park  on 
Saturday,  May  fifteenth.  May  I  have  the  pleasure  of  your  company 
at  the  meet?  If  you  care  to  go,  I  shall  be  happy  to  call  for  you  at 
half  past  one. 

Sincerely  yours, 

Harold  Robins. 

Dear  Tom, 

The  girls  of  the  Domestic  Science  class  are  to  give  a  little 
spread  at  Helen  Dorr's  home  on  Friday  evening  of  this  week,  at 
six  o'clock.  If  you  feel  disposed  to  take  the  risk  and  l)e 
experimented  upon  with  our  cooking,  we  shall  all  be  pileased  to 
have  you  come. 

Very  sincerely, 

Edith  Cook. 

(b)..  Replies. 

My  dear  Miss  Rate, 

I  am  indeed  delighted  to  accept  your  mother's  kind 
invitation  for  Wednesday  evening,  October  fourteenth,  at  eight 
o'clock.  It  will  be  a  great  pleasure  to  me  to  meet  your  friend.  Miss 
Ross,  who  was  a  seminary  chum  of  my  sister  Marian. 

Sincerely  yours, 

James  Dalton. 

Dear  Edith, 

I  showld  say  I  am  willing  to  be  experimented  upon  by  the 
Domestic  Science  girls,  and  so  I  accept  with  pleasure  your  kind 
invitation  to  the  spread  at  Miss  Dorr's  on  Friday  evening.  May  I 
call  at  your  home  about  a  qiiarter  of  six  that  evening  and 
accompany  you  to  Miss  Dorr's? 

Very  sincerely, 

Thomas  Jeckyll. 


ENGLISH  COMPOSITION.  49 

(c) .  .Various  Notes. 
Dear  Mrs.  Thomas, 

I  want  to  thank  you  very  much  for  the  beautiful  graduation 
gift  you  so  kindly  sent  me.  I  shall  always  take  pleasure  in 
wearing  the  pin,  both  because  of  its  beauty  and  its  usefulness, 
and  because  of  its  association  with  one  who  has  always  been  most 
kind  to  me  and  most  thoughtful  of  my  happiness. 

With  sincere  love, 

Jessica  Wright. 

My  dear  Edith, 

I  received  the  invitation  to  your  graduation  exercises,  for 
Wednesday,  June  the  tenth.  I  am  very  sorry  that  my  school  duties 
will  not  permit  me  to  go  to  Bookton  and  be  present  at  the  exercises. 
It  hardly  seems  possible  that  you  are  so  soon  to  be  a  college 
graduate,  does  it?  Why,  it  is  only  a  few  years  since  we  were 
making  mud  pies  together  as  children. 

Please  accept  my  cordial  congratulations  and  my  best  wishes, 
and  believe  me  always, 

Sincerely  yours, 

Albert  Aldrich. 

My  dear  Mrs.  Branton, 

I  am  deeply  grieved  to  learn  of  the  overwhelming  sorrow  that 
has  come  upon  you.  I  know  that  I  am  unable  to  say  anything  to 
soften  your  affliction,  but  I  want  you  to  know  and  feel  that  my 
thoughts  are  with  you,  and  that  you  have  my  deepest  sympathy  in 
your  sorrow. 

Very  sincerely  yours, 

Harriet  Gray  Davis. 

My  dear  Mirs.  Davis, 

Your  kind  message  of  sympathy  affects  me  deeply  and  is  tn<ly 
appreciated.  The  sympathetic  words  of  those  whom  I  know  to  be 
my  true  friends  are  my  greatest  comfort  in  this  hour  of  sorrow. 

Most  gratefully  yours, 

Margaret  Branton. 


Lesson  XXX, 


1.  Write  a  formal  invitation  to  a  dinner  party,  from  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Arthur  Hobson  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Borden,  for  next  FWday 
evening,  at  six  o'clock. 


50  ENGLISH    COMPOSITION. 

2.  Write  regrets  from  the  Bardens. 

3.  Write  an  acceptance  from  the  Bordens. 

4.  Suppose  you  were  invited  to  the  wedding  of  Miss  Adelaide 
Ream  Smith  to  James  Howard  Hutt,  at  the  home  of  Miss  Smith's 
parents,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Nicholas  Smith,  two  weeks  from  today. 
Write  the  invitation  and  your  acceptance. 

5.  Write  an  informal  invitation  to  one  of  the  girls  or  boys  to 
attend  a  birthday  party  in  your  honor  on  your  next  birthday 
(whatever  the  date  may  be).  Choose  your  own  hour  and  form  of 
entertainment. 

6.  Write  to  a  boy  or  a  girl  friend  in  another  town  thanking 
hJm  or  her  for  a  Christmas  gift  that  you  have  received. 


Lesson  XXXI.—Kinds  of  Composition— Description. 

I. — The    Four    Kinds    of   Composition. 

We  have  been  working  along  for  some  time  on  what  might  be 
called  the  raw  material  of  composition,  and  the  manner  of  handling 
it.  Exercises  In  grammar,  in  correct  English,  in  sentences,  In 
paragraphs,  in  pxmctuation,  in  spelling — all  these  are  merely  means 
to  an  end.  That  end,  or  final  purpose,  is  the  expression  of  our 
thoughts!  in  a  whole  composition,  or  theme,  as  it  is  sometimes  called. 

As  you  have  learned,  no  doubt,  before,  there  are  four  main 
kinds  of  composition,  or  discourse.    These  are — 

1.  Description^ — representing  objects  or  conditions  as  they 
are  at  some  one  selected  point  of  time.  A  description  is  a  word 
photograph,  or  painting.  For  example,  we  describe  a  house,  a 
person,  a  landscape. 

2.  Narration — representing  objects  or  conditions  as  they  are 
In  action  through  several  successive  points  of  tlma  A  narrative  is 
a  moving  picture  exhibit.  We  narrate  an  incident,  a  biography; 
an  historical  event,  a  story. 

3.  Exposition — explaining  (1)  what  characteristics  are  common 
to  objects  of  a  given  class;  and  (2)  explaining  the  meaning  of 
general  statements,  or  propositions.  For  example,  we  explain  such 
a  subject  as  "The  Camel",  "Money",  "The  Power  of  Habit". 

\.  Argumentation — attempting  to  prove  the  truth  of  some 
statement,  or  proposition.    For  example,  we  argue  such  subjects 


ENGLISH  COMPOSITION.  51 

as,  "Every  Boy  Should  Go  to  High  School",  "Mathematics  Affords 
Better  Training  than  Language". 

In  the  lessons  that  are  to  follow,  we  shall  consider 
a  few  simple  principles  and  directions  concerning  each  of  these 
forms  of  composition,  and — what  is  better — we  shall  try  to  gain 
some  skill  in  writing  such  compositions  by  actual  practice. 

M.— DESCRIPTION. 

1.  There  are  two  general  classes  of  description,  distinguished 
from  each  other  by  their  respective  purposes.     These  are — 

(a)  Scientific,  or  Informational  Description,  the  purpose  of 
which  is  to  give  our  readers  as  exact  a  knowledge  of  the  object 
as  we  have.  The  aim  here  is  merely  information.  Examples — 
descriptions  of  a  machine,  of  a  lost  dog. 

(b)  Literary,  or  Artistic  Description,  the  purpose  of  which  is 
to  give  our  readers  the  same  general  impression  of  the  object  that 
we  have.  The  aim  here  is  rather  to  interest  and  entertain  than  to 
inform.  Examples — descriptions  of  a  deserted  mill,  a  landscape  in 
autumn,  an  old  beggar. 

2.  The  first  requirement  in  description  is,  that  the  writer  shall 
observe  closely,  before  he  attempts  to  describe,  and  shall  be  sure 
that  he  himself  sees  clearly  what  he  is  trying  to  make  others  see. 

3..  In  scientific  description  he  must  see  and  know  every 
detail;  in  literary  description  he  must  see  and  know  and  feel  those 
details  that  are  necessary  to  produce  the  effect  that  he  wishes  to 
produce.  For  example,  in  describing  a  machine,  he  must  not 
neglect  any  detail  necessary  to  make  its  construction  and 
appearance  clear  to  one  who  has  not  seen  it.  In  scientific 
description  one  must  photograph  with  words.  On  the  other  hand, 
in  describing  an  old  beggar,  one  must  not  neglect  the  details  that 
create  the  general  impression  of  poverty  and  dependence,  and 
produce  the  feeling  of  pity  that  the  writer  himself  feels,  but  other 
details  may  be  omitted. 

4j.  All  description  has  this  difficulty —  that  the  writer  has  to 
present  in  language  that  takes  time  to  read,  a  number  of  details 
that  have  to  be  taken  in  by  the  reader  all  at  once,  if  he  is  to  get 
the  impression  that  the  eye  would  receive  at  one  glance.  The 
reader  must  remember  at  the  end  of  the  description,  what  was 
given  at  the  beginning,  and  must  put  all  the  details  together,  or 
he  will  not  get  the  right  picture  in  his  mind. 

5.  To  overcome  this  difficulty  in  wrifing  descriptions  you 
must — 


52  ENGLISH    COMPOSITION. 

(a)  Realize  that  not  all  details  can  be  given. 

(b)  Choose  your  details  according  to  your  purpose. 

(c)  Begin  your  description  with  a  genera!  outline  or 
representation  or  impression.  This  is  called  the  fundamental  image. 
Example.  "The  Court  House  is  a  large,  square,  three-story, 
stone  building." 

(d)  Follow  this  with  particular  details  in  order  of 
place,  or  relation  to  each  other,  or  prominence,  being  sure  that  you 
indicate  where  the  detail  belongs  in  the  whole  picture. 

(e)  When  you  have  finished,  ask  yourself,  "Have  1 
given  too  many  details?  Have  I  left  out  some  important  detail? 
If  some  one  had  described  the  object  to  me  in  this  way,  should  I  be 
able  to  see  it  as  it  is?" 

Exercises. 

Mention   (1)   the  details  you  would  give;     and   (2)   some  you 
would  omit  in  describing: 

(a)  A  lost  dog. 

(b)  Your  school  room. 

(c)  A  grove  in  winter. 

(d)  Your  family  cow. 


Lesson  XXXIL— Description. 

Before  taking  up  the  description  of  specific  kinds  of  objects, 
let  us  notice  a  few  general  suggestions  respecting  the  art  of 
describing. 

1.  The  primary  elements  of  all  description  are  the  qualities 
that  we  perceive  by  the  senses;  that  is,  form,  color,  sound,  taste, 
smell,  touch.  You  cannot  make  your  reader  perceive  the  object 
you  present  unless  you  describe  its  size,  shape,  and  color;  or  it 
may  be  its  taste,  or  its  odor,  or  its  sound,  or  its  hardntess  or 
smoothness,  as  the  case  may  be.  These  are  the  materials  with 
which  you  paint  your  picture. 

2.  These  materials,  however,  must  not  be  used  without  careful 
distribution,  any  mort  than  a  painter  would  simply  dash  red,  yellow, 
black,  and  green  paint  upon  his  canvas  without  attending  to  where 
he  dashed  it.  In  other  words,  all  these  details  must  be  grouped 
about  some  central  prominent  detail,  giving  the  whole  description 


ENGLISH  COMPOSITION.  63 

unity.  In  scientific  description  this  unity  is  secured  by  showing 
the  relation  of  all  the  details  to  the  purpose  of  the  object.  (For 
example,  in  describing  your  public  library — if  the  reOation  of  each 
detail  to  the  purpose  of  the  building  is  brought  out,  the  memory 
will  hold  these  details  better.)  In  literary  description,  unity  is 
secured  by  selecting  details  that  will  create  the  one  prominent 
impression  that  you  wish  to  make.  (For  example,  in  describing 
a  ruined  mill,  give  details  presenting  ruin  and  desolation.) 

3.  But  if  unity  is  important  in  description,  coherence  is  equally 
Important  (See  Lesson  XII).  No  one  can  get  an  accurate 
Impression  of  what  you  describe,  unless  (1)  you  indicate  clearly 
where  each  detail  belongs  with  reference  to  the  rest;  and  (2) 
unless  you  do  this  without  waste  of  words  by  devices  of  connection. 
Adverbial  clauses,  relative  clauses,  participial  phrases,  various 
adverbial  phrases  of  place,  are  the  best  means  of  accomplishing 
this.  Examples  of  such  devices — "Nearby",  "on  the  other  side", 
"to  the  right",  "beyond  which",  "where  this  ended",  "lying  beneath 
which",  "resting  upon",  and  the  like. 

4.  A  very  helpful  device  in  description  is  comparison.  The 
mind  learns,  as  we  know,  by  building  on  the  knowledge  it  already 
has,  and  by  passing  from  the  known  to  the  laiknown.  Comparing 
details  of  your  object  with  what  is  familiar,  whether  they  are  like 
it  or  different  from  it,  assists  the  reader  in  forming  the  picture. 
This  was  one  of  the  strong  points  in  the  descriptive  power  of  the 
great  poet  Dante.  He  likened  objects  in  Inferno  to  familiar 
Italian  objects,  and  thus  painted  pictures  that  his  countrymen 
could  not  fail  to  understand.  As  examples  of  this  devioe  of 
comparison — "The  town  was  situated  in  a  cup-like  valley".  "Arms 
like  the  fans  of  a  windmill".  "He  had  a  wolfish  ex:pression  of 
countenance." 

5.  The  last  example  in  (4)  illustrates  another  useful  element 
In  description, — that  is  suggestion.  Sometimes  a  single  word,  like 
"wolfish"  will  suggest  a  whole  train  of  details,  and  so  make  it 
unnecessary  to  mention  them  specifically;  for  example,  "Cassius 
has  a  lean  and  hungry  look."  Such  single  suggestive  expressions 
are  called  epithets.  Epithet  is  a  valuable  device  to  secure  vividness 
in  description,  but  it  must  not  be  overdone,  or  it  will  become  an 
affectation. 

6.  Imitative  words,  words  that  treproduce  their  meaning  by 
their  sound,  are  helpful  in  certain  instances  of  description;  for 
example,  "murmur",  "I'oar",  "hiss",  "thud",  "growl",  "splash", 
"paiter",  and  the  like. 

'(      Finally,  imagination  is  a  livening  and  warming  influence  in 


54  ENGLISH  COMPOSITION. 

description,  as  it  is  in  all  forms  of  writing.  It  enables  the  writer 
to  transport  himself  and  his  reader  to  the  scene  described,  and 
especially  to  produce  the  mood  or  general  tone  that  he  desires  in 
his  picture.  Imagination  peoples  the  old  homestead  that  he  is 
describing,  with  all  the  scenes  of  the  past;  and  in  the  lonely 
forest,  it  calls  up  the  Indian  and  the  pioneer  long  departed,  and 
paints  their  portraits  on  the  canvass.  Imagination  was  the  source 
of  Dickens's  great  power,  alike  in  his  pathetic,  his  humorous,  and 
his  horrifying  descriptions. 

Exercises. 

1.  What  would  you  adopt  as  the  central  or  guiding  principle 
in  selecting  details  for  a  description  of — 

(a)  A  crowd  at  a  street  carnival. 

(b)  A  race  horse. 

(c)  A  locomotive. 

2.  Sijggest    some    comparisons    that    would    be    helpful    in    a 
description  of: 

(a)  President  Roosevelt. 

(b)  A  mountain. 

(c)  An  old  tree. 

3.  Suggest   some    epithets   that   might   be     applied     in     the 
description  of: 

(a)  A  beautiful  Woman. 

(b)  A  thunder  storm. 

(c)  An  angry  man. 


Lesson  XXXIIL— Description  of  Artificial  Objects. 

I.     The  subjects  of  description  fall  imder  six  main  classes: 

1.  Artificial  objects  (made  by  man). 

Examples.     Manufactured    articles,    mechanical    contri- 
vances,  buildings. 

2.  Groups  of  artificial  objects. 

Examples.    A  room,  a  town. 

3.  Single  Natural  Objects. 

Examples.     Flowers,  plants,  animals. 

4.  Groups  of  natural'  objects,  or  natural  scenery. 


ENGLISH  COMPOSITION.  65 

Examples.    A  vallay,  a  sunset,  a  storm. 
6.     Persons. 

(a)  Appearance. 

(b)  Character. 
6.     Groups  of  persons. 

Examples.    A  street  crowd,  a  mob,  a  group  of  children. 

II.  In  this  and  the  following  lessons,  we  sha^l  take  up  each  of 
these  classes  of  description  and  discuss  it  very  briefly  under  the 
following  headings: 

1.  Details  to  be  selected. 

2.  Plan,  or  order  of  details. 

3.  Method  of  treatment. 

4.  Illustration. 

III.     DESCRIPTION    OF    ARTIFICIAL    OBJECTS. 

Note  that  your  subject  must  be  some  particular  object  that 
you  have  seen,  having  special  characteristics  distingniishing  it 
from  others,  {Kx,.  our  piano.  Locomotive  No.  180),  not  a  class  of 
objects  (Ex.  the  piano,  the  steam  engine).  The  latter  are  subjects  of 
exposition,  to  be  discussed  later,  not  of  description. 

1.  Details  to  be  selected. 

(a)  What  it  is  (if  necessary  to  inform  reader.) 

(b)  General   appearance  or   characteristics — the  fund- 
amental image. 

(c)  Material,     shape,     size,    color,   peculiarities   that 
distinguish  it  from  others  of  its  class. 

(d)  Its  location,  or  where  you  saw  it. 

(e)  Its  history  or  traditions. 

(f)  Its  special  use,  or  function. 

(g)  Impressions   produced   by   it  upon   the  writer  or 
upon  others. 

2.  Plan,  or  order  of  details. 

The  order  of  details  may  be  varied,  but  one  would  begin  with 
(a)  as  indicated  in  (1),  if  that  is  necessary  (Ex.  The  Sphynx) ;  if 
not,  with  either  (b)  or  (d),  following  with  (c),  and  (f),  if  you 
use  (f) ;  then  (e),  if  used,  ending  generally  with  (g),  if  x^ed.  at  all. 
If  you  begin  with  (d) — (Ex.  "Halfway  up  the  front  stairway  of 
Grandfather's  house  is  an  odd  old  maiiogany  clock".  "I  walked 
down  to  the  Rock  Island  station  the  other  day,  and  on  a  side  track, 
there  stood,  fresh  from  the  factory,  engine  No.  810.") — ^you  would 


56  ENGLISH  COMPOSITION. 

naturally  follow  with  (b)  and  (c).  If  your  subject  is  a  building, 
the  natural  beginning  is  (d).  Often  there  will  be  nothing  to  say 
on  the  subject  of  (e)  or  (g) .  Do  not  have  one  set  plan  for  all  your 
descriptions — that  would  be  ai'tiflcial.  Cultivate  variety  and 
naturalness. 

3.     Method  of  treatment. 

(a)  Your  method  of  treatment  will  depend  upon  your  purpose. 
If  your  aim  is  merely  to  inform,  select  details  that  serve  to  dis- 
tinguish the  object  from  others  and  to  identify  it,  and  give  in  a 
condensed  way  all  that  are  necessary  for  that  purpose,  giving  unity 
to  your  description  by  indicating  the  use,  or  function,  of  the  object, 
and  the  relations  of  the  details  to  this  general  function.  Com- 
parison is  often  useful  in  making  an  object  clear.  You  may  also 
have  to  use  some  technical  terms  (that  is,  words  having  special 
meanings  in  certain  arts  or  uses),  for  example  "lever",  "cylinder", 
"escapement".  Be  sure  to  make  their  meaning  plain  and  do  not 
use  too  many  of  them. 

Illustration. — The  other  day  I  invented  a  little  device  to  assist 
me  in  carrying  wood  upstairs.  It  is  an  inch  board  two  feet  long 
and  one  foot  wide,  upon  which  the  wood  is  placed,  and  which  I  hold 
out  In  front  of  me  with  the  edge  against  my  body,  like  a  shelf.  A 
rope  is  attached  to  the  sides  near  the  outer  corners,  and  thrown 
round  my  neck,  to  help  support  the  weight.  On  each  end  of  the 
board  a  three  inch  strip  is  nailed  securely,  to  keep  the  wood  from 
rolling  off.    The  scheme  works  well. 

(Notice  how  the  use,  or  function  of  details  is  indicated.) 

(b)  If  your  purpose  is  not  so  much  to  inform  as  merely  to 
entertain  (literary  description),  what  you  desire  is  to  give  your 
readers  the  same  general  impression  of  the  object  that  you  yourself 
have.  In  this  case,  secure  unity  by  selecting  details  that  contribute 
to  that  impression.  Many  merely  identifying  details  may  be 
omitted.  Comparison,  contrast,  epithet,  and  imagination  are  useful. 
History  and  tradition,  also,  may  assist  in  giving  a  prevailing  tone. 

Illustration. — Last  week  while  I  was  rummaging  in  an  old  book 
case  in  the  attic,  I  came  across  the  copy  of  Caesar  that  I  studied  in 
the  high  school.  Dear  me,  poor  old  Caesar!  Neither  moth  nor  rust 
had  corrupted  him,  yet  he  had  that  same  worn  and  weary  appear- 
ance that  I  had  when  I  translated  him  in  Room  Five. 

Did  I  really  study  the  book  so  hard?  The  green  cloth  cover 
was  scratched  and  frayed  at  the  corners,  and  was  gaping  away 
from  the  front  fly-leaf,  as  if  it  wanted  to  desert  the  text  and  lead 
an  independent  existence.  On  that  fly-leaf,  below  my  signature, 
was  the  name  of  Somebody,  who  bears  another  name  now — alas. 


ENGLISH  COMPOSITION.  67 

not  mine.  I  turned  over  the  dog-eared  and  pencilled  pages,  till  I 
came  to  the  Bridge.  What  a  struggle  I  must  have  had  with  that 
masterpiece  of  engineering  construction!  And  the  Vocabulary — 
how  I  must  have  wrestled  with  it. 

Ah  me,  that  was  long  ago,  and  Divitiacus,  Veringetorix,  and 
that  nameless  soldier  who  bore  the  standard  of  the  Tenth  Legion 
are  shadows  of  the  Past — that  misty  region  into  which  have 
slipped  those  happy  schooldays  that  will  come  no  more.  But  I  am 
glad  I  found  that  Caesar — I  wonder  if  She  still  has  hers. 

(Note  that  unity  is  secured  by  selecting  details  that  give  the 
impression  of  the  book's  being  a  well-worn  reminiscence  of  the 
pleasantly  melancholy  past.) 


Lesson  XXXIV. 

(a)  Describe  for  the  information  of  your  reader  one  or  more  of 
the  following  objects,  or  any  other  object  that  your  teacher  may 
suggest: 

1.  Your  watch. 

2.  Your  new  gas  stove. 

3.  Your  automobile. 

4.  Your  new  party  gown. 

5.  Some  birthday  gift  you  have  received. 

6.  The  Public  Library  (exterior). 

7.  Some  other  public  building. 

8.  The  High  School  (exterior). 

(b)  Describe  for  literary  effect  one  or  more  of  the  following 
objects  or  any  other  object  that  your  teacher  may  suggest: 

1.  Your  desk  at  school. 

2.  An  old  photograph  album. 

3.  A  new  hat  seen  In  a  shop  window. 
4<.  A  ruined  building. 

5.  The  bookcase  In  the  corner. 

6.  The  bulletin  board  in  the  hall. 

7.  Your  piano,  or  some  other  much-used  object  at  home. 

8.  The  kitchen-sink. 

9.  The  wood-shed. 

10.    The  history  text-book  that  you  studied  last  year. 


58  ENGLISH  COMPOSITION. 

Lesson  XXXV. --Groups  of  Material  Objects. 

(Rooms,   Interior   of  Buildings,   Towns) 

1.  Details  to  be  selected,  and  plan. 

(a)  Location  or  circumstances  of  viewing  it. 

(b)  Point  of  view. 

(c)  Fundamental  image — ^general  appearance  or  character- 

ization or  effect. 

(d)  Principal  objects  in  order  of  prominence  or  of  place. 

(e)  History,  traditions,  or  associations. 

(f)  Impressions  produced  upon  the  writer  or  upon  others. 
In  describing  a  group  of  objects,  it  is  very  important  to  select 

a  given  point  of  view,  and  then  not  to  shift  it.  For  example,  if  you 
are  describing  a  room,  you  must  confine  your  description  to  the 
objects  you  can  see.  A  town  viewed  from  a  bluff  overlooking  it 
would  be  described  differently  from  the  same  town  seen  from  the 
point  of  view  of  a  river  that  passes  through  it.  If  it  becomes 
necessary  to  shift  the  point  of  view,  indicate  the  change  clearly. 
When  you  come  to  specific  objects,  you  will  have  to  confine  yourself 
to  the  more  prominent  or  striking,  and  either  omit,  or  group 
comprehensively,  the  others.  You  may  begin  either  with  the  object 
imnnediately  in  front  of  you,  or  with  the  most  prominent  object,  but 
after  you  have  selected  the  starting  point,  you  must  work  out 
from  it  either  to  the  right  or  to  the  left,  describing  objects  in  order 
of  place,  and  then  coming  back  to  it,  if  necessary,  to  work  out  in  the 
other  direction.  Sometimes  one  might  begin  with  (e)  or  (f),  of 
the  plan.     Sometimes  there  will  be  nothing  to  say  on  those  topics. 

2.  Method  of  Treatment. 

Review  what  is  said  under  this  heading  in  Lesson  XXXIII,  III,  3. 

If  you  are  describing  for  mere  information,  as  in  the  case  of  a 
town  or  the  interior  of  a  buildi  ng,  your  general  style  would  be  a  good 
deal  like  that  of  an  encyclopedia  or  a  guide-book  article — bare 
details,  without  much,  or  any,  embellishment. 

If  you  are  describing  for  literary  effect,  decide  on  the  prevailing 
impression  or  tone  of  the  scene,  and  select  details  that  serve  to 
reproduce  that.  Historical,  traditional,  or  personal  association  may 
be  used  with  good  effect. 

3.  Illustrations. 

(a)     Informational. 
Utopia  is  a  city  of  12,000  Inhabitants,  situated  in  an  oblong 


ENGLISH  COMPOSITION.  59 

valley  between  the  bluffs  of  the  White  River,  at  the  junction  of 
that  stream  with  the  Blue  River.  It  is  an  old  town,  with  a  popula- 
tion largely  composed  of  persons  of  moderate  means,  who  are 
engaged  in  mercantile  and  professional  occupations.  There  are, 
however,  several  large  manufactories.  (Here  they  may  be 
envanerated).  The  business  district  is  in  the  centre  of  the  town, 
surrounding  a  large  county  court  house  that  stands  in  a  square  by 
Itself.     The  residence  portion,  etc. 

(b)     Literary. 

As  my  car  reached  the  brow  of  the  bluff,  the  city  of  Utopia 
came  suddenly  upon  my  view.  1  stopped  and,  with  feelings  not 
easy  to  describe,  gazed  once  more  upon  the  city  of  my  birth.  It 
was  twenty  years  since  I  had  seen  it,  but  to  the  distant  view, 
twenty  years  had  wrought  but  little  change.  A  mile  and  a  half 
away  the  south  bluff  rose,  as  of  old,  in  all  its  lines  of  beauty,  dotted 
with  comfortable  homes.  At  its  foot,  the  White  River  still  flowed 
on  undisturbed  by  commerce.  Between  me  and  the  river,  and 
spread  beneath  me,  was  the  same  old  town  with  its  familiar  objects, 
— the  court  house  directly  in  front  and  nearly  a  mile  distant, 
throwing  the  protection  of  the  law  around  the  surrounding  business 
district.     To  the  right  of  this,  and  stretching  out  to  the  west,  etc. 

Notice  that  when  you  have  selected  a  point  of  view,  objects 
must  be  described,  not  as  you  may  know  them  to  be  on  closer  view, 
but  as  they  appear  from  that  point  of  view.  For  example,  no  minute 
details  could  be  given  of  the  White  River  or  of  the  business  district 
in  the  foregoing  description,  for  they  are  too  far  away.  The 
description  is  given  unity  by  the  general  impression  of  "absence 
of  change"  in  the  old  town. 

Exercises. 

1.  Describe  for  information  one  of  the  following,  or  any  other 
subject  your  teacher  may  assign: 

(a)  Your  school  room. 

(b)  The  interior  of  your  church. 

(c)  A  neighboring  village  or  city. 

(d)  The  interior  of  a  factory. 

2.  Describe  for  literary  effect  one  of  the  following,  or  any 
other  subject  that  may  be  assigned: 

(a),  (b),  (c),  or  (d)  in  (1),  preceding. 

(e)  Your  home  city  from  a  certain  point  of  view. 

(f)  The  assembly  room  of  your  school. 

(g)  Some  room  in  your  home. 


60  ENGLISH  COMPOSITION. 

Lesson  XXXVI.-Objects  in  Nature. 

(Flowers,    Plants,   Animals.) 


1.  Note  that  here  too,  as  in  the  description  of  artificial  objects, 
Lesson  XXXIII,  your  subject  must  be  some  particular  object  (My 
Dog,  The  Old  Linden  Tree),  not  a  class  of  objects  (Dogs,  The 
Linden  Tree).  The  latter  are  not  subjects  of  description,  but  of 
exposition. 

2.  Subjects  coming  under  this  classification  are  some 
particular  flower,  fruit,  plant,  tree,  rock,  gem,  domestic  pet,  bird, 
wild  animal  (at  large  or  caged),  insect,  or  the  like,  that  you  have 
seen  or  known  about  as  an  actually  existing  individual. 

3.  Details  to  be  selected  and  plan. 

(a)  Location  or  ownership. 

(b)  General    appearance    or    characterization — ^the    funda- 

mental image. 

(c)  Details  in  order  of  prominence  or  place  — shape,  size, 

color,  parts. 

(d)  History  or  personal  association. 

(e)  Use,  or  function. 

(f)  Impressions  produced  by  it. 

This  order  may  be  varied  of  course.  Sometimes  one  might 
begin  with  (d)  (Example.  When  my  grandmother  moved  into  the 
country,  she  gave  me  a  queer  little  yellow  kitten  named  Poky) ; 
or  with  (e)  (Example.  The  strangest  watchman  that  I  have  ever 
met  is  a  grumbly  old  cinnamon  bear  owned  by  an  old  jeweller  in 
Douglas  Court) ;  or  even  with  (f)  (Example.  I  shall  never  forget 
the  feeling  of  horror  that  came  over  me  when  I  first  saw  Goliath, 
"The  Man-destroying  Gorilla").  In  giving  details  under  (c),  the 
order  will  depend  largely  upon  the  subject  and  the  way  in  which 
you  decide  to  treat  it.  Sometimes  mere  place  order  will  be  best 
(for  example,  the  description  of  the  external  appearance  of  an 
animal) ;  sometimes  details  will  be  given  in  order  of  prominence, 
the  most  striking  first  (for  example,  the  color  or  size  of  a  gem) ; 
sometimes  relation  of  parts  with  reference  to  their  use  will 
determine  the  order  (for  example,  the  details  in  describing  an 
ostrich.) 

4.  Method  of  treatment. 

(a)  As  in  all  description,  this  depends  upon  your  purpose. 
If  you  are  simply  describing  for  information,  a  bripf,  unormanented 


ENGLISH  COMPOSITION.  61 

catalogue  of  the  prominent  details  is  all  that  is  necessary.  Use 
brief  comparisons  and  technical  terms  when  needed,  being  sure  that 
the  latter  are  understood  by  the  reader. 

Illustration. 

You  will  find  the  comer  stake  by  taking  a  straight  course  due 
south  three  hundred  feet  from  an  old  walnut  tree  that  stands 
beside  a  little  pond.  This  tree  is  about  forty  feet  high,  and  its 
sky  outline  is  very  irregular  in  api)earance.  The  tree  is  easily 
distinguishable  by  a  large  crooked  limb  that  starts  from  the  main 
trunk  about  six  feet  from  the  ground  and  terminates  in  a  jagged 
end,  where  the  \\ind  has  broken  it  off.  The  bark  of  the  tree  is  off 
in  several  places,  and  on  one  of  the  bare  spots  some  one  has  carved 
a  letter  "H". 

(b)  If  your  description  is  to  be  literary,  decide  upon  the 
general  impression  that  you  wish  to  convey  and  seilect  your  details 
accordingly.  Epithets,  comparisons,  figures  of  speech,  and 
imitative  words  are  useful.  Fancy,  imagination,  and  sometimes 
humor  lighten  up  the  picture.  Technical  terms  (such  as,  "petals", 
"eye-sockets",  "fetlocks")  may  have  to  be  used,  but  try  to  confine 
yourself  to  such  as  most  readers  will  understand.  History  and 
personal  association  give  a  human  Interest  to  the  description. 

Illustration. 

There  never  was  a  more  digniftedly  "grouchy"  creature  than 
Toodles.  Toodles  was  a  French  poodle  of  uncertain  age,  whose 
eai;ly  training  in  some  unknown  family  had  soured  a  disposition 
already  taciturn  enough.  Added  to  this,  he  was  deaf,  and  this 
affliction  no  doubt  increased  both  his  ill  temper  and  his  solemnity. 
His  diminutive  size,  his  white  curly  hair,  covering  his  whole  body 
and  falling  over  his  bright  wistful  eyes,  gave  one  the  impression 
that  he  was  very  lovable  and  even  affectionate;  but  any  attempt 
at  fondling  him  soon  erased  this  impression,  for  at  the  slightest 
approach  toward  familiarity,  he  would  fly  into  a  passion  and  snap 
viciously  at  the  offender.     His  dignity  was  not  to  be  trifled  with. 

He  had  a  way  of  secreting  himself  under  chairs  and  in  similar 
places,  from  which  he  would  emerge  in  a  sputtery  rage  and  bite  the 
shoes  of  unsuspecting  callers  who  had  unwittingly  stepped  or 
rocked  upon  his  tail.  Having  performed  this  duty  to  his  offended 
feelings,  he  would  retire  to  his  former  resting  place  and  withdraw 
into  a  solemn  contemplation  of  his  violated  dignity. 

Although  he  was  irritable  and  unfriendly  to  the  common  run 
of  humanity,  to  his  mistress  he  was  the  pattern  of  devotion.  He 
considered  himself  her  special  guardian,  and  would  do  anything  for 
her   within   his   power.       No   doubt  the   feeling  that  he   was   her 


62  ENGLISH  COMPOSITION. 

protector  increased  his  self-esteem  and  his  sense  of  personal  dignity. 
If  one  were  polite  to  his  mistress,  he  adopted  at  least  a  tolerant 
attitude,  and  even  became  solemnly  friendly  if  cultivated  in  the 
proper  way.  He  had  a  few  tricks  of  the  more  dignified  kind,  such 
as  sitting  up  on  his  hind  legs,  and  for  these  he  expected  cake  or 
candy,  or  something  of  that  sort. 

In  spite  of  his  peculiarities  one  could  not  help  liking  him,  and 
feeling  pity  for  this  little  deaf  piece  of  perversity,  whom  fate  in  his 
early  days  had  not  treated  kindly. 

Exercises. 

1.  Describe  for  information  one  or  more  of  the  following,  or 
any  other  object  assigned  by  your  teacher: 

(a)  A  horse  for  sale. 

(b)  A  stray  cow. 

(c)  An  odd-looking  boulder  at  the  entrance  to  a  canyon. 

(d)  Some  strange  wild  animal  that  you  saw  in  a  menagerie. 

(e)  A  strange  flower  that  you  found  while  out  walking. 

2.  Describe  for  literary  effect  one  of  the  following,  or  any 
other  object  assigned  by  your  teacher: 

(a)  Your  family  driving  horse. 

(b)  A  trained  elephant  that  you  have  seen. 

(c)  A  rose  that  some  one  dropped  at  a  social  gathering. 

(d)  Some  household  pet. 

(e)  The  old  tree  in  the  front  yard. 

(f)  An  educated  parrot  or  crow  or  raven. 


Lesson  XXXVIL— Natural  Scenery. 


1.  The  subject  divides  itself  into  two  general  classifications: 
(1)  Nature  at  rest  (Examples.  A  landscape,  moonlight  on  the  sea, 
an  autumn  scene,  Pike's  Peak) ;  and  (2)  Nature  in  activity. 
(Examples.  A  storm,  a  snowfall,  a  sudden  gust  of  wind,  sunrise  in 
the  mountains,  a  forest  fire,  a  flood).  This  latter  division  comes 
very  close  to  being  narration,  but  as  the  descriptive  element  is 
predominant,  we  shall  call  it  description. 

2.  Details  to  be  selected  and  plan. 

(a)     Circumstances  under  which  seen — time  and  occasion. 


ENGLISH  COMPOSITION.  63 

(b)  Point  of  view. 

(c)  P'undamental   image — general  outline  or   appearance. 

(d)  Details   in   order   of   place,   beginning   with   the   most 

prominent — natural   objects,   buildings    (if   there   are 
any). 

(e)  Inhabitants  of  the  scene — men,  other  animals. 

(f)  Sounds  and  odors. 

(g)  Personal  or  historical  associations. 

(h)     Progress  ol  events  in  order  of  time  (if  description  of 

"Nature  in  activity"), 
(i)  Impressions  and  effect. 
The  preceding  is  the  most  natural  order,  though  of  course  it 
may  be  varied.  Usually  (a)  will  come  first,  and  (b)  must  be 
indicated  at  the  beginning;  sometimes  (e),  (f),  and  (g)  do  not  occur 
at  all.  Of  course  (h)  is  used  only  when  the  subject  is  some  phase 
of  nature  in  action.     Sometimes  (i)  is  introduced  at  the  beginning. 

3.     Method  of  treatment. 

(a)  The  same  rules  apply  here  as  elsewhere  with  reference 
to  the  distinction  between  scientific  and  literary  description.  See 
Lesson  XXXI,  II,  3;  Lesson  XXXIT,  2;  Lesson  XXXIII,  III,  3; 
Lesson  XXXV,  2,  3;     Lesson  XXXVT,  4'. 

(b)  When  the  purpose  is  literary,  the  language  may  be  on  a 
somewhat  more  elevated  plane  than  usual,  especially  in  describing 
nature  in  activity  (for  example,  a  storm) ;  yet  even  here  reasonable 
simplicity  should  prevail,  and  the  language  should  not  be  made  too 
"bookish"  or  overdrawn.  Moderation  is  a  fine  thing  even  in  a 
storm  or  at  a  fire.  Especially  avoid  (1)  what  is  cabled  "fine 
writing", — a  "flowery"  and  pretentious  way  of  saying  what  should 
be  expressed  simply;  and  (2)  the  use  of  what  are  called  "stock 
expressions", — that  is,  expressions  formerly  good  enough  perhaps, 
but  overworked  and  now  stale,  like  gaudy  styles  once  tolerated 
when  they  were  new,  but  now  gone  out  of  fashion  (Examples. 
"Raging  torrent",  "the  devouring  element",  "the  waves  lashed  them- 
selves into  a  fury",  "all  nature  seemed",  "the  sighing  of  the  wind", 
"a  scene  of  entrancing  beauty",  "that  the  brush  of  a  Raphael 
could  not  portray").  Figures  of  speech,  if  not  overdrawn,  epithet, 
imitative  words,  imagination,  reminiscence,  may  all  be  used  with 
effect  in  describing  natural  scenery. 

(c)  Be  careful  in  describing  natural  scenery  to  avoid 
monotony  of  expression — and  simply  cataloguing  objects  in  order  of 
place,  connected  by  such  expressions  as  "and  then",  "next  I  see", 
and  the   like.     Try  to   secure   some   variety  in     connecting     your 


64  ENGLISH  COMPOSITION. 

sentences  and  In  leading  from  one  object  to  another.    Participial 
phrases,    such    as    "winding    away    to    the    right",    and    dependent 
clauses,  such  as  "which  was  sheltered  by  an  oak  grove",  are  useful 
for  this  purpose. 
Illustration. 

The  morning  view  from  my  bedroom  window  is  a  good  tonic 
for  the  day.  I  am  awakened  by  the  chirping  of  some  sparrows 
fighting  for  their  breakfast,  and  I  open  the  blinds  and  look  out. 

The  newly-risen  sun  bids  good  morning  with  a  cheery  smile,  as 
he  lifts  his  head  over  the  distant  mass  of  foliage  that  clothes  the 
East  Side.  Through  this  covering  of  green,  here  and  there  a 
dwelling  appears,  with  spirals  of  smoke  rising  from  it,  which  seem 
to  say,  "Breakfast  is  nearly  ready".  In  the  foreground,  where  this 
sea  of  home-dotted  foliage  ends,  a  cultivated  field  slopes  down  to 
the  Fox  River,  which,  at  its  nearest  point  not  fifty  feet  from  my 
window,  winds  like  a  silver  frame  round  the  whole  picture  and 
disappears  to  the  left,  past  a  jutting  rock  and  a  green-clad  island. 
To  the  right,  and  just  a  block  distant,  the  river  hurries  away 
beneath  a  bridge,  over  which  a  group  of  laborers  are  coming  to 
their  daily  work.  Far  to  the  right,  over  the  bridge  and  over  the 
long,  low  battlements  of  the  Armory,  rise  throi^gh  a  bluish  morning 
mist  the  green  bluffs  south  of  the  Illinois. 

Sounds  of  traffic  begin  to  be  heard — the  rumble  of  a  wagon, 
the  whistle  of  a  distant  interurban  car,  the  clatter  of  dishes  in  the 
dining  room  below  me.  Before  the  advancing  waves  of  sunlight, 
shadow  and  microbe-of-the-nlght  alike  flee,  and  a  new  day  has 
made  a  good  beginning. 


Lesson  XXXVIIL 


1.     Describe  simply   for   information  one  of  the  following,  or 
some  other  scene  that  your  teacher  may  assign: 

(a)  The  valley  of  the  —  River. 

(b)  The  scene  from  your  front  porch. 

(c)  The   appearance  of  the  sky  at  sunset  on  a  certain 

evening. 

(d)  A  windstorm. 

(e)  A  snowstorm. 

Note. — In    this    exercise    describe    without    ornament,    simply 


^ 


ENGLISH  COMPOSITION.  65 

giving   in   a   well-connected   way   the   facts   that   will   enable   your 
reader  to  see  just  what  you  saw. 

2.     Describe  for   literary  effect  one  of  the  following,  or  some 
other  scene  assigned: 

(a)  The  valley  of  the  —  River. 

(b)  The  scene  from  your  bedroom  window. 

(c)  A  sunset  scene. 

(d)  A  windstorm. 

(e)  A  heavy  rainstorm. 

(f)  A  snowstorm. 

(g)  The  going  out  of  the  ice  in  spring. 


Lesson  XXXIX.— Description  of  Persons, 


1.  This  subject  includes  (a)  description  of  personal  appear^ 
ance,  and  (b)  description  of  character.  A  complete  description 
involves  both,  but  frequently  each  is  made  a  description  in  itself. 

2.  Details  to  be  selected  and  plan. 

(a)  Who  the  person  is  or  circumstances  of  meeting  hlm. 

(b)  Fundamental  image — general  appearance  or  character- 

ization. 

(c)  Details  of  age,  stature,  form,  face  (general  shape,  eyes, 

nose,  mouth,  complexion),  limbs, — all  arranged 
according  to  their  degree  of  individuality  or  distinc- 
tiveness, and  also  with  some  reference  to  place  order. 

(d)  Character — general     characterization,     predominating 

traits,  peculiarities,  habits,  influence. 

(e)  Biography  in  so  far  as  it  illustrates  (c)  or  (d). 

(f)  Comments  on  the  person  in  a  general  way. 

No  one  would  be  so  foolish  as  to  suggest  a  set  plan  for  every 
personal  description.  The  foregoing  order  may  of  course  be  varied 
in  many  ways,  especially  the  details  in  (c)  and  (d).  It  seems 
natural  to  begin  with  either  (a)  or  (b).  If  (d)  is  introduced,  it 
naturally  follows  (c),  though  the  order  may  be  reversed. 
Biography  (e)  is  to  be  used  only  as  it  Illustrates  description,  by 
anecdote  or  incident,  or  as  it  seems  to  account  for  some  physical 
peculiarity  or  trait  of  character. 


66  ENGLISH   COMPOSITION. 

3.  Method  of  treatment. 

Note  again  what  has  been  said  in  previous  lessons  about  the 
distinction  between  informational  and  literary  description.  If  the 
description  is  merely  for  information,  details  are  given  briefly, 
clearly,  and  without  ornament,  as  one  would  give  them  for  identifica- 
tion of  the  person  (Example.  The  description  of  an  escaped 
convict).  If  the  purpose  is  literary,  the  aim  should  be  to  make  the 
description  vivid  and  to  give  it  unity  by  giving  details  that  set 
forth  the  most  striking  characteristic.  In  literary  description,  be 
careful  not  to  catalogue  details  in  a  monotonous  way,  but  weave 
them  together  by  skillful  use  of  dependent  clauses,  participial 
phrases,  and  conjunctive  expressions.  Imagination,  fancy,  humor, 
and  pathos  are  effective. 

Illustrative  anecdotes  and  incidents  often  portray  character  by 
suggestion  better  than  it  can  be  pictured  by  an  actual  enumeration 
of  the  traits.     This  is  an  especially  artistic  method  of  portraiture. 

4.  Illustrations. 

(a)     Description    for    Information. 

Escaped  from  the  Illinois  State  Penitentiary  at  Joliet,  on  June 
25,  1909 — Eric  Krogson,  life  prisoner  for  murder.  Swede,  age  thirty 
years;  height  five  feet  ten  inches,  weight  170  pounds;  light  hair, 
blue  eyes,  florid  complexion,  prominent  cheek  bones,  large  mouth, 
with  one  front  tootli  missing,  smooth-shaven;  arms  long;  middle 
finger  of  right  hand  cut  off  at  second  joint.  Walks  with  a  long, 
swinging  stride.  Speaks  English  imperfectly.  He  is  a  dangerous 
man  and  is  especially  handy  with  a  club.  He  is  likely  to  be  found 
in  low  resorts  frequented  by  sailors.  He  drinks  heavily  and  is 
especially  quarrelsome  and  dangerous  when  under  the  influence  of 
liquor. 

(b)     Literary  description. 

My  little  friend  Edith  came  tripping  along  in  all  the  bouyancy 
of  her  ten  years,  carrying  a  bag  of  peppermint  sticks.  She  almost 
passed  me  before  she  noticed  who  it  was  sitting  there  on  the  park 
bench.  "Why,  Mr.  Miles,"  she  cried,  "I  almost  didn't  see  you. 
Won't  you  have  some  candy?"  "Certainly,  but  help  yourself  first," 
I  answered.  "Oh,  no,  you  must  take  the  first  piece,  Mr.  Miles."  I 
did  so.  She  nodded  approvingly  her  shapely  little  head  of  warm 
brown  hair,  coiled  "like  a  lady's"  and  decorated  with  a  bow  of 
bright  pink  ribbon,  and  brushing  off  the  bench  in  order  to  protect 
her  fresh  white  muslin  frock,  she  seated  herself  beside  me,  her 
straight  and  slender  dignity  contrasting  decidedly  with  my  stooped 
and  careless  abandon. 


ENGLISH  COMPOSITION.  67 

After  she  had  extracted  a  stick  of  the  candy  and  tested 
it  with  teeth  and  lips  as  white  and  red  as  itself,  she 
said,  "Why  are  you  sitting  out  here  without  your  hat,  Mr.  Miles? 
You  shouldn't  do  that,  you'll  catch  cold."  The  firm  little  chin  tried 
to  look  very  decided,  but  a  roguish  smile  brought  out  a  dimple  that 
spoiled  the  whole  effect.  "What  if  I  do,"  I  replied;  "nobody  cares 
if  I  catch  cold."  At  once  the  fair  face  flushed  with  *a  glow  of 
indignant  protest,  and  the  large  brown  eyes  took  on  a  serious  look. 
"Why,  Mr.  Miles,  how  can  you  say  that?  I  would  care  an  awful  lot." 
Dear  me,  little  Edith,  if  you  were  only  twenty  years  older!  "What 
a  little  mother  you  are,"  I  said.  "Who  taught  you  to  look  after 
people's  colds?"  "Well,  you  see,"  she  answered,  "when  Mamma  is 
at  the  club  or  playing  bridge,  I  have  to  look  after  Robert,  and 
Robert  is  always  doing  things  to  catch  cold.  A  little  brother  is  a 
great  care,  Mr.  Miles." 

Just  then  a  little  mongrel  dog  came  trotting  along.  He  sidled 
out  of  our  way  as  he  came  opposite  the  bench,  but  Edith  called 
him  and  reached  out  a  stick  of  candy  to  him.  He  stopped  without 
hesitation,  and  wagging  his  tail  in  thanks,  took  the  proffered  gift, 
and  lay  down  at  the  little  slipi>ered  feet  of  Edith  to  enjoy  his  meal, 
occasionally  looking  up  gratefully  at  her  and  again  wagging  his  tail 
in  acknowledgment  of  her  bright  glance  of  approval. 

We  talked  for  a  time  about  various  things,  especially  about 
Edith's  new  doll,  but  at  last  she  said  that  she  must  go  and  look  after 
Robert.  As  she  left  me,  followed  by  ber  new  conquest,  the  mongrel 
dog,  I  sighed  and  wished  I  were  a  little  boy  again,  growing  up  side 
by  side  with  little  Edith. 

Note. — ^An  attempt  was  made  in  the  preceding  account  to 
illustrate  how  a  person's  appearance  and  character  may  be  described 
incidentally  and  Indirectly,  by  means  of  that  person's  acts,  rather 
than  by  a  pure  description.  The  illustration  comes  dangerously 
near  being  narration  rather  than  description,  though  the  fact  that 
the  purpose  is  to  describe  probably  places  it  in  the  latter  class. 
From  this  description,  although  we  are  not  told  in  so  many  words, 
we  learn  that  Edith  is  both  gay  and  serious;  that  she  is  kind* 
hearted,  affectionate,  and  motherly  beyond  her  years;  that  she 
is  polite,  well-bred,  and  dignified;  but  that  she  is  still  a  little  girl 
who  loves  dolls., 

The  following  is  the  same  portrait  given  in  the  style  of  pure 
description.  This  method  is  simpler  and  easier,  though  it  does  not 
give  any  clearer  picture  than  the  first  description. 

Second   Description  of  Edith. 
I  have  a  little  friend    named    Edith,    who    often    keeps    me 


68  ENGLISH    COMPOSITION. 

company  as  I  sit  on  the  park  bench  on  sunny  mornings.  She  is  ten 
years  old,  and  of  a  gay  and  bouyant  disposition.  In  some  respects, 
though,  she  is  rather  old  for  her  years,  for  she  has  had  much  of  tho 
care  of  her  little  brother  Robert,  and  this  has  made  her  a  motherly 
little  soul. 

On  a  morning  in  the  park,  Edith  is  indeed  a  pretty  picture.  Her 
straight  and  slender  form,  surmounted  by  a  shapely  head  crowned 
with  a  coil  of  warm  brown  hair,  is  carried  with  a  sort  of  dignity  that 
sometimes  overawes  me,  and  when  her  fair  face  and  her  large 
brown  eyes  take  on  a  serious  expression,  I  can  hardly  realize  that 
she  is  a  little  girl  who  still  loves  dolls  and  candy.  She  is  very 
neat  and  careful  in  her  dress,  but  as  I  am  a  man,  about  all  I  notice 
is,  that  her  frock  is  generally  white  muslin,  and  that  she  usually 
wears  a  bright  pink  bow  in  her  hair. 

She  seems  to  be  very  fond  of  me,  perhaps  for  the  reason  that 
she  is  fond  of  all  dumb,  homeless  animals,  and  I  sometimes  wish 
that  I  could  start  my  life  anew  and  be  a  little  boy  of  Edith's  age. 
But  what  a  foolish  thought,  with  a  span  of  thirty  years  between  us. 


Lesson  XL. 


1.  Describe    for    information    one   of   the   following,   or   som» 
other  person  designated  by  your  teacher: 

(a)  A  lost  child. 

(b)  An  escaped  prisoner. 

(c)  A  tramp  suspected  of  burglary. 

(d)  One  of  your  classmates. 

(e)  One  of  your  relatives. 

(f)  The  personal  appearance  of  George  Washington. 

(g)  The    personal    appearance    of    some    other    historical 

character,  from  a  portrait. 

2.  Describe  for  literary  effect  one  of  the  following,  or  some 
otter  person  designated  by  your  teacher: 

(a)  A  little  child  of  your  acquaintance. 

(b)  One  of  your  acquaintances. 

(c)  One  of  your  relatives. 

(d)  One  of  your  classmates. 

(e)  An  old  tramp. 


ENGLISH  COMPOSITION. 

(f)  Some  eccentric  character  about  town. 

(g)  The  "meanest"  person  that  you  know, 
(h)     The  noblest  person  that  you  know. 


Lesson  XLL— Groups  of  Persons, 


1.  This  class  of  descriptions  will  nearly  always  be  literary. 
Subjects  under  this  heading  are  crowds,  mobs,  groups  of  children, 
the  company  at  a  social  gathering,  and  the  like.  The  element  of 
narration  can  hardly  be  kept  out,  though  the  purpose  of  this  form 
of  composition  is  rather  to  describe  the  appearance  and  personality 
of  the  group  than  to  tell  what  it  does. 

2.  Details  to  be  selected  and  plan. 

(a)  Place,  time,  and  occasion  of  the  group's  being  gathered 

together. 

(b)  The  point  of  view  from  which  it  is  seen. 

(c)  Fundamental  image — general  character  or  appearance. 

(d)  Details — the    component    members    of   the   group,    ar- 

ranged usually  in  order  of  place,  beginning  with  the 
nearest  or  the  most  prominent. 

(e)  General  impressions. 

This  plan  may  be  varied  by  transposing  (a)  and  (b) ;  some- 
times by  beginning  with  (e)  as  a  general  preface,  or  comment  on 
what  is  to  follow. 

3.  Method  of  treatment. 

Little  need  be  said  on  this  subject  other  than  what  has  been 
said  under  this  heading  in  previous  lessons.  Liveliness,  vividness, 
and  condensation  are  desirable  in  this  form  of  description. 
Especially  be  careful  not  to  describe  at  length  any  one  member  of 
the  group.  What  is  wanted  is  not  a  series  of  separate  minute 
photographs,  but  a  general  picture  of  the  whole  group.  Give  the 
description  unity  by  relating  all  details  to  some  central  general 
Impression  or  predominant  fact  about  the  scene. 

4.  Illustration. 

When  the  word  went  round  that  a  lock-out  had  been  declared 
at  the  Works,  we  knew  that  there  would  be  trouble.  At  the 
appointed  hour  of  eight  Bergen's  Hall  was  literally  jammed  with  the 
poor  wretches  whom  the  vengefulness  of  old  Maiden  had  turned 
away  from  their  daily  bread.    The  hall  was  long,  but  narrow  and 


70  ENGLISH  COMPOSITION. 

low,  and  the  atmosphere  soon  became  almost  unendurable.  A 
dozen  oil  lamps,  sputtering  and  smoking,  served  to  throw  a  sort 
of  ghastly  and  deathlike  pallor  over  the  faces  of  the  workmen 
who  had  assembled  there  to  voice  their  protest  against  the  injustice 
that  had  been  done  them.  Ghastly  faces  they  were,  and  brutish 
too;  for  the  men  were  mostly  foreigners  of  the  lower  type,  who 
had  come  from  the  furnace  of  European  oppression  and  been 
seethed  Into  nothing  better  in  the  melting-pot  of  America.  On  the 
platform  at  one  end  of  the  hall  a  few  of  the  leaders  were  gathered 
together  around  a  rickety  table,  upon  which  sat  a  broken  pitcher 
supposedly  containing  water  for  the  speaker. 

I  shall  never  forget  the  fearful  impression  made  upon  me  by 
those  passionate,  brutal,  hungry,  pitiable  faces,  straining  out 
toward  the  speaker  through  the  half-light,  reflecting  like  children's 
faces  the  changing  tone  of  the  speaker's  words — now  solemn,  now 
wild,  now  pathetic,  now  horrifying;  for  the  speaker  was  a  skillful, 
though  ignorant,  orator,  and  he  talked  unbridled  Anarchy.  My  mind 
went  back  to  "Paradise  Lost",  and  I  thought  of  Satan  addressing 
the  fallen  angels  in  Pandemonium.  At  times  one  could  hear  the 
labored  breathing  of  the  audience,  as  they  listened  in  rapt  suspense 
to  some  tragic  recital  of  wrong;  then  as  the  speaker  ended  some 
terrible  denunciation,  a  mighty  roar  would  arise,  followed  by 
confused  jabberings  of  several  languages,  as  if  the  builders  of  Babel 
had  just  dropped  into  Hell  and  were  being  exhorted  to  join  the 
hosts  of  Satan. 

Suddenly,  and  without  the  slightest  warning,  the  cry  arose, 
"Police".  I  heard  a  crashing  and  crunching  of  floor  and  chairs,  I 
saw  a  mighty  concerted  rush  toward  the  door,  I  felt  a  surge  of 
fresh  air.  Whiff — the  lights  were  out.  I  heard  a  voice,  "Captain, 
shall  we  fire?"  A  low  reply — and  then  six  streams  of  fire  shot 
into  the  darkness  of  the  hall,  followed  by  such  shrieks  and  curses 
as  I  hope  I  may  never  hear  again.  Then  more  flashes,  a  stinging 
sensaticm  in  my  shoulder,  and — darkness. 


Lesson  XLIL— Narration. 


1.  We  have  already  been  told  (Lesson  XXXI)  that  Narration 
is  the  representing  of  objects  or  conditions  as  they  act  through 
successive  points  of  time.  It  is  a  series  of  moving  pictures  as 
distinguished  from  description,  which  may  be  compared  to  a 
photograph.  While  description  tells  how  an  object  appears, 
narration   tells  what  it  does. 


ENGUSH  COMPOSITION.  71 

2.  The  elements  of  narration, — that  is,  the  matertals  out  of 
which  we  construct  a  narrative,  are;    (1)   persons,  or  characters; 

(2)  acts,  or  incidents;  (3)  pictures,  or  scenes;  (4)  conversations. 
When  these  materials  are  put  together  in  an  orderly  way  so  as  to 
make  (1)  characters  (2)  act  and  (3)  tall<  through  successive  (4) 
scenes,  we  are  telling  a  story,  or  narrating. 

3.  Some  one  has  aptly  put  it  in  this  way:  Tlie  questions  about 
a  narrative  are — (1)  What?  (2)  Who?  (3)  When  and  where? 
(4)  Why?  This  means  that  the  writer  must  make  plain  in  his  story 
(1)  What  happened,  that  is,  the  Plot;  (2)  Who  did  the  things,  that  is, 
the  Characters;  (3)  Where  and  when  the  action  took  place,  that  is 
the  Setting;  (4)  and  finally,  the  author  must  have  some  purpose, 
or  underlying  meaning,  that  his  story  is  intended  to  work  out. 

4.  The  Setting  is  the  time  and  place  of  the  story.  It  should 
be  (1)  clearly  set  forth;  (2)  briefly  set  forth,  sometimes  even 
Incidentally,  for  too  much  attention  to  the  setting  delays  the  action ; 

(3)  in  keeping  with  the  action  (For  example,  an  Indian  story  would 
have  to  be  set  in  a  time  when  there  were  savage  Indians,  and  in  a 
place  where  they  were  found). 

5.  The  Plot,  or  Story,  must  (1)  be  true  to  nature,  and  probable, 
or  made  to  appear  probable;  (2)  present  successive  events  that 
grow  naturally  out  of  one  another;  (3)  work  toward  a  Climax,  or 
natural  outcome,  which  the  writer  holds  in  mind  from  the  beginning, 
but  which  he  would  do  well  to  keep  the  reader  from  knowing  until 
the  end;  (4)  move  as  rapidly  as  possible  through  essential 
incidents  only,  omitting  those  that  are  unimportant;  (5)  end  at 
the  climax,  without  further  explanation. 

6.  The  Characters  must  (1)  fit  the  action, — that  is,  be  such 
characters  as  would  naturally  take  part  in  such  incidents;  (2)  be 
natural  and  life-like,  in  character,  in  actions,  and  in  conversation; 
(3)  not  be  too  numerous;  (4)  mainly  be  portrayed  by  their  acts 
and  their  conversation,  rather  than  by  description. 

7.  The  purpose,  or  motive,  (1)  must  not  be  stated  in  set  words, 
but  (2)  must  be  worked  out  through  the  plot  and  left  for  the  reader 
to  see  for  himself;  (3)  it  may  be  simply  to  entertain,  or  to 
picture  manners,  or  to  teach  a  lesson,  or  to  work  a  reform,  or  to 
state  a  social  problem,  or  to  solve  a  social  problem.  Young  writers 
would  probably  do  just  as  well  not  to  trouble  themselves  very 
much  about  the  purpose  of  their  stories,  but  simply  go  ahead  and 
tell  the  story  as  simply  and  naturally  as  they  can,  letting  the 
purpose  take  care  of  itself. 

8.  The  principles  given  in  the  preceding  paragraphs  apply 
in  all  their  details  only  to  the  more  complicated  kinds  of  story. 


72  ENGLISH  COMPOSITION. 

like   the   short   story   of   fiction   or        the  novel,  but  in  their  main 
principles  they  apply  to  all  narration. 

9.  As  in  the  case  of  description,  so  in  narration,  a  few  cautions 
are  worth  remembering: 

(a)  Realize  that  not  all  details  can  be  given. 

(b)  Choose  only  those  details  that  contribute  in  some  way 

to  the  plot. 

(c)  Begin  in  either  of  two  ways;      (1)   With  the  setting; 

or  (2)  "In  medias  res";  plunge  right  into  the  midst 
of  the  action,  and  bring  the  setting  in  later  incident- 
ally. 

(d)  Follow  this  beginning  with  the  events  in  order  of  time, 

being  careful  when  events  happen  at  the  same  time, 
so  to  introdi.«e  and  connect  them  as  not  to  lead  to 
confusion. 

(e)  Be  sure  to  have  a  climax  toward  which  all  the  action 

works. 

10.  Narration,  like  all  forms  of  composition,  requires  unity 
and  coherence.  Unity  is  secured  by  making  all  incidents  of  the 
story  (1)  bear  upon  the  one  central  plot  that  you  are  working  out; 
and  (2)  serve  as  successive  steps  leading  up  to  the  climax. 

Coherence  is  secured  by  (1)  following  as  nearly  as  possible  the 
order  of  time;  (2)  making  each  incident  have  some  relation  to  the 
preceding  incident  and  grow  out  of  it;  (3)  taking  pains  to  use 
such  connective  phrases,  clauses,  and  paragraphs  as  will  show  this 
time  and  cause  relation. 

Exercises. 

1.  In  Irving's  story  of  "Rip  Van  Winkle" — What  is  the  setting, 
and  where  Is  it  introduced?  Who  are  the  characters?  State 
briefly  the  plot.  What  is  the  purpose?  How  does  the  story  end? 
Does  it  end  with  the  climax? 

2.  Answer  the  same  questions  with  reference  to  Longfellow's 
"Evangeline." 

3.  In  Macaulay's  "Horatius",  discuss  the  setting,  the  plot, 
the  characters,  the  climax,  the  ending. 


Lesson  XLIII,— Incident  and  Anecdote. 


1.    An  incident,  as  distinguished  from  the  subject  of  a  short 
story  or  a  novel,  is  a  single  event,  occurence,  or  adventure,  occupy- 


ENGLISH  COMPOSITION.  73 

tag  a  brief  space  of  time,  and  often  havmg  in  it  the  element  of 
unexpectedness  or  surprise.  An  anecdote  is  a  very  brief  and 
pointed  account  of  a  special  kind  of  incident,  usually  of  a 
biographical  character,  and  ending  abruptly  with  an  unexpected 
and  frequently  humorous  point. 

2.  In  narrating  incidents,  the  details  should  be  few.  The 
time,  place,  and  characters  should  be  introduced  at  once, — ^the 
time  and  place  briefly,  in  a  phrase  or  clause  (For  example.  "I 
was  walking  down  Columbus  Street  last  Saturday,  when  — "). 
The  action  should  begin  immediately  and  move  on  without  halting 
for  elaborate  explanation  or  description,  to  the  climax.  When  the 
climax,  or  point  of  the  story  is  told,  stop;  it  is  not  necessary  to 
add  a  moral  or  an  explanation.  General  conclusions  of  that 
character  (Example.  "Thus  we  see  virtue  was  its  own  reward"), 
or  commonplace  introductions  (such  as,  "An  amusing  incident 
occurred  the  other  day'",  or  "That  a  fool  and  his  money  are  soon 
parted,  is  shown  by  the  following  incident") — are  not  only  un- 
necessary, but  flat  and  inartistic.  Begin  at  the  beginning  of  the 
action,  and  end  when  the  action  is  ended.  The  general  style 
should  be  easy  and  conversational. 

3.  Illustrations. 

(a)     An  Incident. 

His  Gratitude. 

The  ferry  boat  was  just  pulling  out  for  the  South  Side  one 
morning  last  week,  when  a  pugnacioiJs-looking  little  Irishman, 
carrying  a  tin  dinner  pail,  came  rushing  like  mad  down  the 
approach,  shouting,  "Shtop,  Shtop."  But  it  was  too  late,  and  the 
boat  was  already  six  feet  from  the  shore  when  he  reached  the 
edge  of  the  landing.  Evidently  he  had  a  "date"  which  must  be 
kept,  for  without  a  moment's  hesitation,  gathering  his  five  feet  four 
together  in  the  posture  of  a  monkey-on-a-stick,  he  shot  through  the 
intervening  space  and  landed — kerplunk — in  the  water.  Those  of 
us  at  the  back  of  the  boat  crowded  to  the  edge  in  order  to  pull  him 
out  when  he  should  reappear,  which  he  did  immediately,  sputtering 
and  blowing  and  still  clutching  the  dinner  pail.  Two  or  three  of  the 
passengers  reached  dov/n,  grasped  him  by  the  collar  and  the  arms, 
and  hauled  him  rather  unceremoniously  into  the  boat.  He  was 
choking  and  wheezing,  and  seemed  to  need  bailing  out;  so  we 
rolled  him  on  the  floor,  shook  him  a  few  times,  and  finally  stood 
him  on  his  feet. 

No  doubt  some  of  us,  gathered  around  him  in  a  semicircle, 
unconsciously   grinned,   as   our   eyes   fell   upon   his  comical  figure, 


74  ENGLISH  COMPOSITION. 

but  then  we  had  saved  his  life,  and  so  we  kept  still,  awaiting  his 
formal  acknowledgment  of  our  service.  It  was  soon  forthcoming. 
Still  puffing,  he  cast  his  eyes  over  the  assemblage  with  one  look 
of  supreme  disgust,  and  said, — "What  kind  of  a  gazaboo  of  a 
booht  is  this?  Oi'll  suh-h  th'  city  fur  dommages,  and  if  anny  iv 
ye  gints  will  stip  out  on  th'  grass  whin  we  land,  Oi'U  give  ye 
sunthin'  to  laugh  aboot  that  ye'U  not  furgit" 

(b)     An  anecdote. 

My  friend  Gorton,  who  has  a  special  talent  for  saying 
unfortunate  things  unintentionally,  attended  a  social  gathering  the 
other  evening,  at  which  a  large  part  of  the  entertainment  consisted 
of  musical  numbers,  readings,  and  various  "specialties"  by  local 
talent.  Along  about  ten  o'clock  we  were  all  pretty  well  bored,  and 
some  of  the  men  retired  to  the  library  to  smoke.  Gorton  fell  into 
a  chance  conversation  with  a  man  whom  he  had  met  once  or  twice 
at  the  club.  "By  the  way.  Bunker,"  he  said,  "who  is  that  big, 
homely  woman  who  sang  just  before  we  came  in?  I  never  heard 
anything  worse.  It  was  enough  to  fracture  the  cut  glass 
chandelier." 

'Tou  mean  the  woman  in  the  pink  dress?" 

'Tes." 

"Who  sang  'Autumn  Breezes'?" 

Tes." 

"That  is  my  wife." 

Exercises. 
1.    Write  about  an  incident     connected     with     on       of     the 
following: 

(a)  School  life. 

(b)  Sunday  school. 

(c)  Church. 

(d)  A  railway  station. 

(e)  A  street  car. 

(f)  An  automobile. 

(g)  Some  game  or  sport,  as  baseball, 
(h)  A  rainy  day. 

(i)    A  love  aftair. 
(j)    The  post  office, 
(k)    Your  home. 
(1)     A  circus. 
Give  your  narrative  some  suggestive  heading,  such  as,  "Almost 


ENGLISH  COMPOSITION.  75 

Tardy",  "He  Knew  More  Than  the  Teacher",  "The  Minister  Forgot", 
or  the  like. 

2,    Write  from  memory  or  invent  some  anecdote  about  one  of 
the  following: 

(a)  A  blunder  in  school. 

(b)  A  boastful  man. 

(c)  A  bore. 

(d)  A  case  of  mistaken  identity. 

(e)  An  absent-minded  man. 

(f)  A  very  thin  man. 

(g)  A  fat  man. 

(h)     Any  other  subject  that  you  may  prefer. 


Lesson  XLIV,— Personal  Adventures, 


1.  Closely  related  to  incidents  are  accounts  of  various 
adventures  in  which  the  writer  has  taken  part.  Indeed,  these  are 
a  kind  of  expanded  incident,  and  many  of  the  subjects  of  incident 
could  serve  as  subjects  for  this  kind  of  narrative,  if  treated  more 
at  length  by  the  introduction  of  description  and  sometimes  of 
several  incidents.  Narratives  of  this  class  may  have  to  do  with 
some  hunting,  fishing,  exploring,  or  pleasure  trip,  some  midnight 
adventure  of  a  thrilling  character,  a  ghost  or  burglar  story,  or 
the  like. 

2.  This  kind  of  narrative  lacks  the  brevity  and  pointed 
surprise  of  a  short  incident.  It  is  rather  a  succession  of  incidents 
following  along  naturally  and  easily  in  the  order  of  time,  with 
brief  descriptions  introduced  here  and  there. 

3.  These  accounts  often,  and  perhaps  generally,  begin  with  a 
description  of  the  setting  (time  and  place).  Like  all  narratives, 
they  should  work  up  to  a  climax  (Example.  To  the  killing  of  the 
bear,  in  a  bear  story),  toward  which  all  of  the  incidents  should 
contribute.  The  movement  should  be  fairly  rapid,  depending 
somewhat  upon  the  character  of  the  adventure.  Do  not  introduce 
every  little  unimportant  detail  (Example.  Every  little  item  of 
preparation  for  a  fishing  trip).  End  either  with  the  climax,  or 
with  a  sentence  or  so  (not  more)  stating  the  results  or  after-effects. 
For  example. — "In  after  years,  when  Nellie  and  I  were  married,  the 
skin  of  this  beast  was  one  of  the  proudest  decorations  of  our  home." 


76  ENGLISH  COMPOSITION. 

4.  The  language  should  be  fairly  condensed,  spirited,  and 
vivid.  Do  not  use  "fine  writing"  even  at  the  thrilling  moments, 
Ek)  not  use  such  stock  expressions  as  "the  finny  tribe",  "the 
piscatorial  art",  "the  giant  Simian",  "the  gleam  of  a  baleful  eye", 
and  so  on.  Secure  condensation  and  close  connection  by  participial 
phrases,  conjunctive  expressions  (such  as,  "in  the  meantime",  "all 
this  time",  "no  sooner  had than"),  and  dependent  clauses. 

5.  Examples  of  this  form  of  narration  from  books  or 
magazines  may  be  read  in  the  class  for  illustration. 

Exercises. 
Write  an  account  of  one  of  the  following: 

(a)  Some  hunting  adventure. 

(b)  Some  fishing  adventure. 

(c)  Some  exploring  adventure. 

(d)  Some  adventure  on  an  automobile  trip. 

(e)  Some  adventure  in  the  mountains. 

(f)  Some  adventure  on  the  river  or  the  sea  coast. 

(g)  Some  adventure  with  a  burglar. 

(h)     Some  adventure  with  a  supposed  ghost. 

(i)     Any  other  actual  adventure  that  you  may  have  had. 


Lesson  XLV.Social  Gatherings, 


1.  Accounts  of  social  gatherings  are  among  the  most  common 
forms  of  narration.  They  are  favorite  subjects  with  young  writers 
and  are  considered  by  them  to  be  rather  easy.  That  they  are  so 
considered,  is  all  the  more  reason  for  exercising  care  in  writing 
them,  in  order  that  the  writer  may  not  fall  into  a  loose  and 
colorless  style,  lacking  all  Individuality, 

2.  Generally  such  narratives  will  involve  more  or  less 
description,  but  the  writer  should  strive  to  introduce  as  much 
action  and  conversation  as  possible  and  avoid  an  excess  of  the 
descriptive. 


Details  to  be  selected  and  pJan. 

(a)  The  setting — occasion,  time,  place. 

(b)  General  description  of  the  scene. 

(c)  General  description  of  the  company. 


ENGLISH  COMPOSITION.  77 

(d)  Incidents   in   order   of  time,   freely  interspersed  with 

conversation. 

(e)  Incidental  descriptions  of  persons  or  types  of  persons. 

(f)  The  close — "lights  out". 

This  order  may  of  course  be  varied.  For  example,  one  may 
begin  with  (b)  or  (c),  plunging  right  into  the  scene  at  once,  and 
follow  with  (a).  It  is  better  to  close  with  some  action,  rather  than 
with  some  general,  commonplace  comment. 

4.     Method  of  treatment. 

(a)  Omit  unimportant  incidents.  Select  the  Incidents  that 
make  up  the  main  "program"  of  the  entertainment  and  certain 
others  that  may  be  striking. 

(b)  Do  not  overdo  description  of  scenes  or  persons.  Make 
your  descriptions  brief  and  vivid  by  comparison,  epithets,  and 
condensed  expression. 

(c)  By  all  means,  avoid  as  far  as  possible  the  stock  expressions 
and  specimens  of  "fine  writing"  that  so  commonly  afflict  this  form 
of  narrative.  Some  of  these  are:  "assembled  throng",  "dainty 
refreshments",  "sumptuous  repast",  "covers  were  laid",  "the  strains 
of  the  well-known  — ",  "the  gentlemen  were  attired  in  conventional 
black",  "delightfully  entertained  a  number  of  friends",  "the  wee 
sma'  hours",  "tripped  the  light  fantastic  toe",  "the  mazy  waltz", 
"the  popular  caterers",  "enjoyed  the  hospitality",  "partook  of  light 
refreshments",  "charming  hostess",  "presided  at  the  punch  bowl", 
"those  present  from  abroad",  "all  voted  they  had  had  a  delightful 
time".  Some  of  these  expressions  are  a  little  hard  to  avoid,  but  it 
will  help  a  great  deal,  if  you  will  write  naturally,  just  as  you  would 
talk,  and  tell  what  happened,  in  simple,  straightforward  language, 
calling  a  spade  a  spade,  without  attempting  to  say  things  in  a  large 
and  labored  way  or  to  lavish  unnecessary  compliments. 

(d)  The  ridiculousness  of  this  "high-flown"  style  of  writing  is 
illustrated  by  the  following,  actually  taken  from  a  weekly 
newspaper: 

"The  select  dancing  party  given  by  the  ladies  of  the  Eastern 
Star  on  Friday  evening  last  at  the  opera  house  was  a  very  pleasant 
social  affair  and  largely  attended.  The  sweet  influences  of  the 
Pleiades  were  there  and  they  guided  Arcturus  through  the  mazes 
of  the  dance.  The  ladies  were  beautifully  costumed  from  the 
latest  fashion  plates  to  the  more  antique,  never  more  charming  or 
attractive  in  person  or  the  grace  of  conversation,  and  the  gentlemen 
were  in  full  dress  with  some  variations. 

"As  the  dancing   commenced  with  the   sweet  strains  of  the 


78  ENGLISH  COMPOSITION. 

"Orphean  Lute",  the  floor  presented  a  scene  of  animated  liveliness 
and  poetized  motion,  as  the  danceurs,  like  fairies  with  airy-like 
tread,  tripped  the  light  fantastic  in  the  whirl  of  the  dance.  The 
varied  styles  and  steps  would  charm  the  most  critical  and  fastidious, 
from  the  graceful  in  movemeut  and  step,  as  danced  the  daughter  of 
Herodias  before  King  Herod,  to  the  antique  and  angular.  It  was  a 
Terpsichorean  treat  for  the  lovers  of  the  art  The  ladies  and 
gentlemen  vied  with  each  other  in  splendor  of  attire,  winsome  ways, 
grace  in  the  movement  of  the  dance,  and  in  the  charm  of 
commingled  sociality.  The  merry  scene  was  worthy  the  easel  of  a 
Raphael. 

"Many  guests  were  present  from  Dodson  and  Dawson,  enjoying 
the  entertainment,  and  exchanging  social  charms,  hither  drawn 
by  tenderer  ties  than  the  music  and  the  dance." 

5.  There  are  two  general  styles  of  treating  this  subject  of 
social  entertainments:  (a)  for  information,  as  in  newspaper 
accounts;     and  (b)  for  literary  effect. 

(a)  Newspaper  accounts. 

These  are  necessarily  brief  and  should  confine  themeselves  to 
the  facts  that  the  reader  wants  to  know.  Omit  all  ornament  and 
in  a  simple,  straightforward,  matter-of-fact  style  tell  (1)  the  time 
and  place  and  hosts;  (2)  the  character  of  the  entertainment, 
enumerating  the  details  without  much  comment,  in  order  of  time; 
(3)  the  caterer  and  the  orchestra  (if  your  paper  thinks  it  good 
policy  to  advertise  them)  but  without  compliments;  (4)  the  persons 
present  (if  desired  by  the  city  editor  and  if  you  can  give  all  the 
names) . 

It  is  in  newspaper  accounts  especially  that  the  stock  expressions 
of  (4,  c)  occur.  Substitute  good,  plain  synonyms  for  such  expres- 
sions; for  example,  instead  of  "those  present  were",  say,  "the 
following  were  present"  or  "the  guests  were".  Call  refreshments 
"refreshments",  not  "dainty"  or  "delicious"  refreshments.  Do  not 
mention  any  names  of  performers  or  guests  (except  out-of-town 
guests),  unless  you  can  mention  all. 

(b)  Literary  accounts. 

These  are  longer  narratives  than  the  newspaper  account  and 
are  designed  to  be  a  sort  of  short  story  or  a  history  of  the 
entertainment.  Their  object  is  not  so  much  to  inform  as  It  is 
to  entertain.  The  method  of  treatment  of  this  form  has  already 
been  discussed  in  (4).  Description,  ornament,  and  some  comment 
are  allowable,  and  even  desirable,  as  they  would  not  be  in  a  news- 
paper account 


ENGLISH  COMPOSITION.  79 

6.     Illustrations. 

(a)     A  correct  newspaper  account. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  William  Summers  entertained  about  a  hundred 
guests  at  a  musical  and  dancing  party,  at  their  home  on  the  North 
Drive,  on  Friday  evening,  June  17,  from  eight  to  one  o'clock.  A 
musical  program  was  given  from  eight  to  ten,  consisting  of  numbers 
by  the  Misses  Soarer,  Mr.  Jjucius  Bow,  Mr.  Simon  Keys,  and  Miss 
Sophronisba  Bore.  Refreshments  were  then  served  under  the 
direction  of  the  Chicago  caterers,  Carvem  and  Fillem.  Dancing 
followed,  in  the  new  colonial  ball  room,  which  was  elaborately 
decorated  in  pink  and  gold.  Music  was  furnished  by  the  Scraper 
orchestra.     The  out  of  town  guests  were  — . 

(b)  For  illustrations  of  a  literary  nature,  accounts  of  such 
gatherings  from  novels  or  magazines  may  be  read  to  the  class. 

Exercises. 

Write  (1)  a  newspaper  account;  (2)  a  literary  account,  of  one 
of  the  following: 

(a)  A  wedding. 

(b)  Somo  "party"  you  may  have  attended. 

(c)  A  birthday  party. 

(d)  A  concert. 

(e)  A  picnic. 

(f)  A  banquet. 

(g)  A  Domestic  Science  "spread". 

(h)     A  class  entertainment  in  which  a  play  was  given, 
(i)     A  Halloween,  or  Christmas,  or  Valentine  party. 


Lesson  XLVL— Games  and  Sports. 


1.  Games  and  sports,  such  as  baseball,  football,  and  the  like, 
can  be  made  very  interesting  subjects  of  narration,  because  we  all 
know  more  or  less  about  them  from  having  participated  in  them  or 
viewed  them,  and  because  they  afford  opportunity  for  spirited 
narration  and  for  climax. 

2.  Details  to  be  selected  and  plan. 

(a)  Setting  —  time,  place,  occasion. 

(b)  The  scene  in  general. 


80  ENGLISH  COMPOSITION. 

(c)  The  crowd  in  general. 

(d)  Principal    incidents    in    order    of   time,    omitting    un- 

important events. 

(e)  The  outcome  —  the  climax. 

(f)  The  triumph  of  the  victors. 

(g)  The  departure  of  the  spectators. 

This  order  may  of  course  be  freely  varied;  for  example,  (b) 
or  (c)  may  be  placed  first.  Often  (f)  and  (g)  should  be  omitted 
entirely. 

3.     Method  of  treatment. 

(a)  The  general  treatment  of  tnese  subjects  should  be  spirited, 
the  movement  rapid.  Do  not  "putter  around"  getting  your  main 
action  started.  For  example — "The  pitcher  took  the  ball  from  the 
umpire,  raised  his  arm  and  his  foot,  twisted  around,  and  threw  the 
ball — 'Strike*,  said  the  umpire."  Of  course  the  pitcher  did  that, 
such  things  can  be  taken  for  granted.  You  would  never  get  through 
your  story  if  you  dwelt  on  details  in  this  manner.  Say  simply,  if 
the  incident  is  important  enough  to  mention  at  all,  "The  very 
first  ball  that  Scotty  threw  was  a  strike."  Condense  whole 
incidents  or  scenes  into  a  phrase  or  a  sentence,  if  they  are  un- 
important, or  omit  them  altogether.  For  example — "After  ten 
minutes  of  play  in  which  nothing  much  seemed  to  happen  but 
pushing  and  hauling  back  and  forth, — suddenly  a  mighty  yell  went 
up,  followed  by  an  almost  heart-breaking  silence;  for  there  was 
Davis  plunging  down  the  field  with  the  ball,  no  one  between  him 
and  the  goal,  and  big  Dan  Dodger  close  at  his  heels." 

(b)  In  describing  games  and  sports,  you  will  have  to  use 
some  technical  terms,  such  as,  "touch  down",  "punt",  "infield  fly", 
and  the  like.  However,  do  not  use  any  more  of  them  than  are 
absolutely  needed,  especially  if  you  are  writing  for  the  general 
reader. 

(c)  Here,  too,  avoid  stock  expressions  and  "fine  writing", 
and  most  of  the  more  violent  slang  affected  by  sporting  writers; 
for  example,  "twirled  the  sphere",  "swatted  a  homer",  "plugged  it 
in  the  nose",  "a  bum  heave  to  first". 

(d)  Above  all,  have  in  mind  the  climax.  No  other  brief 
accounts  of  ordinary  events  fit  themselves  so  well  to  the  working 
up  of  a  climax  as  do  narratives  of  exciting  games.  The  interest 
should  be  made  to  grow  through  successive  incidents.  A  scene  or 
an  incident  that  halts  the  action  for  a  moment  may  be  introduced 
just  before  the  climax,  in  order  to  increase  the  effect  of  the  climax 


ENGLISH  COMPOSITION.  81 

by  holding  the  reader  in  suspense;     then  let  the  climax  come  with 
a  rush — and  all  is  over. 

(e)  Do  not  dwell  long  on  your  theme  after  the  climax.  Often 
the  climax  is  the  most  effective  ending,  followed  by  merely  a  clause 
or  a  sentence  of  comment  on  the  result.  Illustration — "True  as 
an  arrow  the  ball  shot  between  the  goal  posts  and  over  the  bar. 
As  it  struck  the  ground,  the  silence  of  suspense  that  was  almost 
an  agony  a  moment  before,  burst  into  one  mighty,  hair-raising  yell 
from  the  Brantford  side  of  the  field.  We  had  won,  six  to  four,  and 
the  old  score  against  Depford  had  been  evened  up." 

(f)  The  same  distinction  between  newspaper  and  literary 
accounts  holds  here  as  in  the  case  of  social  gatherings.  The 
newspaper  accounts  have  to  omit  much  of  the  description  and  the 
artistic  treatment  of  the  literary  narrative.  Still,  even  in  newspaper 
reports  of  games,  writers  can,  and  do,  adopt  more  of  the  literary 
style  than  in  accounts  of  social  gatherings. 

4,  For  examples  of  this  form  of  narrative,  see  the  tournament 
scene  in  "Ivanhoe",  the  football  game  in  "Tom  Brown's  School 
Days",  the  chariot  race  in  "Ben  Hur",  the  arena  scenes  in  "The 
Last  Days  of  Pompeii"  and  in  "Quo  Vadis."  Current  fiction  and  the 
magazines  also  olfer  some  good  specimens. 

Exercises. 

Write  (1)  a  newspaper  account,  (2)  a  literary  narrative,  about 
one  of  the  following: 

(a)  A  baseball  game. 

(b)  A  football  game. 

(c)  A  basket  ball  game. 

(d)  A  track  meet. 

(e)  A  foot  race. 

(f)  A  race  meet 

(g)  How  the  old  horse  won  the  bet. 
(h)     The  last  game  of  the  season. 

(i)     Some  childhood  game    as     you     see     some     children 
playing  it. 


Lesson  XLVIL— Scenes  From  Daily  Life. 


1.    "All  the  world's  a  stage  and  all  the  men  and  women  merely 
players;  they  have  their  exits  and  their  entrances,  and  one  man  in 


82  ENGLISH   COMPOSITION. 

bis  time  plays  many  parts. "  Round  about  us  every  day  tbe  strange 
drama  of  human  life  is  played  in  tragedy  and  in  comedy,  and  its 
Bbiftlng  scenes  and  familiar  pictures  furnish  unlimited  material  for 
narration.  No  one  of  the  classes  of  narratives  we  have  considered 
thus  far  is  quite  so  varied  in  its  scope  of  subjects  as  "Scenes  from 
daily  life."  The  subjects  range  from  scenes  of  simple  home  life  to 
tragedies  of  violence,  crime,  and  death.  As  examples  of  subjects 
under  this  classification,  we  may  mention  "A  day  in  school", 
"Helping  Mother  Saturday  morning",  "The  jury  disagreed",  "The 
burning  of  Factory  A",  "The  wreck  of  the  Sally  Owen",  "The  close 
of  school",  "A  strike". 

2.  Details  to  be  selected  and  plan. 

(a)  The  setting  —  time,  place,  occasion. 

(b)  The  scene  in  general. 

(c)  The  chief  characters. 

(d)  The  incidents  in  order  of  time  and  minor  characters 

introduced  with  them. 

(e)  The  climax. 

(f)  Possibly  (though  very  briefly,  if  at  all),  results. 

This  plan  will  necessarily  be  varied  more  often  than  any  plan 
given  heretofore,  because  of  the  variety  of  subjects.  Sometimes 
(c)  or  (b)  or  even  (f)  will  come  first.  (In  the  latter  case,  (f)  plays 
the  part  of  a  kind  of  moral,  or  text).  Sometimes  minor  characters 
are  introduced  before  the  chief  actors,  (Example.  The  mob  before 
the  leader  appears).  Even  the  mildest  form  of  narrative  must  have 
some  climax  (Example.  "Helping  Mother  Saturday  morning" — 
climax,  when  the  bread  comes  triumphantly  out  of  the  oven,  or 
when  the  last  bit  of  work  is  finished,  and  you  can  join  your  waiting 
chum).  Usually  it  is  best  to  end  with  the  climax,  and  not  spoU 
the  effect  by  continuing  with  something  weaker.  This  is  absolutely 
essential  if  your  story  is  of  the  dramatic  kind. 

3.  Method  of  treatment. 

The  treatment  of  this  class  of  narrative  must  necessarily  vary 
with  the  character  of  the  subject,  but  all  narratives  of  this  class 
should  have  the  following  elements: 

(a)  Human  interest;  that  is,  they  must  appeal  to  the  feelings 
and  the  experience  of  the  reader  by  picturing  human  life. 

(b)  Unity,  through  some  central  idea  that  you  are  working 
out,  and  some  climax  that  you  are  working  toward  . 

(c)  Rapidity  of  movement,  unimportant  details  being  excluded. 

(d)  A   style   of   language  suited  to  the   particular   subject — 


ENGLISH  COMPOSITION.  83 

calm  and  pleasant  for  the  gentler  scenes,  intense  and  vivid  for 
those  of  great  dramatic  interest. 

(e)  Description  and  character-painting,  as  well  as  action, 
but  the  description  condensed,  and  the  characters  portrayed  by  acts 
and  conversation  as  much  as  possible,  rather  than  by  description. 

4.  Illustrations.  All  literature  is  filled  with  narratives  of  this 
character.  Some  of  these  from  standard  authors  may  be  read  in  the 
class  as  illustrations. 

Exercises. 

Write  a  narrative  of  at  least  500  words  about  one  of  the 
following: 

(a)  Some  scene   from   school   life — ^the   first  day,  opening 

exercises,  commencement  day,  or  the  like. 

(b)  Some    scene    from   business   life — shopping,   invoicing 

stock,  a  Christmas  rush,  "our  office". 

(c)  Some  scene  from  factory  life. 

(d)  Some  scene  from  home  life. 

(e)  Some  scene  from  farm  life. 

(f)  Some  scene  from  public  life — a  court  trial,  a  public 

meeting,  a  meeting  of  the  city  council. 

(g)  Some  catastrophe — a  fire,  a  flood,  the  breaking  of  a 

dam,  a  railway  accident,  the  collapse  of  a  building, 
(h)     Some  scene  of  crime  or  violence — a  murder,  a  mob, 

a  strike, 
(i)     Some    humorous    scene — catching    a       colt,  a  bashful 

courting,   seeing  the  circus,  a  scene  of  disorder  in 

school,  a  war  of  words. 


Lesson  XLVIIL— Scenes  Taken  From  History. 


1.  For  the  most  part,  the  history  of  mankind  moves  on  from 
day  to  day  in  a  quiet  and  unobtrusive  fashion,  but  now  and  then 
great  events  or  achievements  have  flashed  out  and  have  stood  like 
brilliant  paintings  against  the  background  of  the  commonplace. 
The  great  historians  have  narrated  these  events  so  vividly  that 
many  of  them  have  become  as  familiar  to  us  as  events  of  our  own 
day.  Examples  of  these  striking  narratives  are  accounts  of  battles, 
famous  trials,  executions,  and  assassination  scenes. 


84  ENGLISH    COMPOSITION. 

2.  The  objection  to  assigning  this  kind  of  narratives  to  high 
school  students  is,  of  course,  that  such  students  cannot  possibly 
write  from  original  sources  of  information.but  must  depend  on  books. 
This  is  true,  but  there  are  two  good  reasons  nevertheless  for  assign- 
ing you  such  subjects:  (1)  The  writing  of  such  themes  will  help  you 
in  your  history  study,  in  connection  with  which  you  ought  to  narrate 
a  few  such  events;  and  (2)  it  may  serve  to  train  you  for  the  time 
wlien  possibly  you  yourselves  may  be  great  historians  working  out 
history  from  original  sources. 

3.  Details  to  be  selected  and  plan. 

(a)  The  setting — time,  place,  historical  background. 

(b)  The  general  scene. 

(c)  The  central  characters. 

(d)  Incidents  in  order  of  time. 

(e)  The  climax. 

(f)  Results — very  briefly. 

Here  again  the  order  may  be  varied,  (b)  or  even  (f)  coming 
first.  By  "historical  background",  mentioned  in  (a)  is  meant  the 
situation  or  conditions  that  brought  about  or  that  preceded  the 
particular  event  which  is  your  subject.  For  example — Suppose 
your  theme  were  "The  Crossing  of  the  Rubicon";  tell  in  a 
sentence  or  a  brief  paragraph  the  condition  that  led  up  to  this. 

4.  Method   of  treatment. 

(a)  Be  sure  that  you  do  not  merely  copy  or  remember  word  for 
word  some  historical  account  that  you  have  been  reading  in  order 
to  gain  your  Information.  Read  several  accounts,  until  you  have 
the, details  well  fixed  in  your  mind;  then  write  from  memory,  using 
your  own  words. 

(b)  Since  your  account  will  generally  be  much  shorter  than 
the  accounts  that  you  have  read,  omit  all  but  the  greater  details 
of  action. 

(c)  In  selecting  the  details  that  you  will  include,  remember 
the  climax,  and  choose  those  incidents  that  are  steps  leading  to 
this  climax. 

(d)  Make  your  language  dignified  and  vivid,  but  it  must  be 
your  own,  not  that  of  some  historian.  Employ  epithet,  figurative 
language,  imagination,  but  do  not  overdo  them,  nor  indulge  in 
"fine  writing".  Sometimes  quotations  from  famous  poems  may  be 
introduced  with  good  effect. 

5.  Illustrations.  Some  famous  scenes  form  standard  works 
may  be  read  in  the  cfass;  such  as,  "The  storming  of  the  Bastille", 
from  Carlyle,  or  from  "A  Tale  of  Two  Cities";     "The  last  stand  of 


ENGLISH  COMPOSITION.  85 

the  Old  Guard"  from  "Les  Miserables";  "The  battle  of  Hastings", 
from  Dickens's  "Child's  History".  For  good  specimens,  see  Green's 
"Readings  from  English  History". 

Exercises. 
Write  an  account  of  500  words  or  so  about  one  of  the  following : 

(a)  Some  battle  of  the  American  Revolution — Lexington, 

Bunker  Hill,  Princeton,  Yorktown. 

(b)  Some   battle   of   the    Mexican     War — Monterey,     the 

capture  of  the  City  of  Mexico. 

(c)  Some   battle   of   the   Civil   War— Bujl     Run,     Shiloh, 

Gettysburg,  The  Merrimac  against  the  Monitor. 

(d)  Some    battle    of     the     Spanish-American     War — ^The 

destruction  of  the  Spanish  fleet  at  Manilla,  the  battle 
of  Santiago,  the  storming  of  San  Juan  Hill. 

(e)  Some  famous  battle  of  ancient  or     modem     times — 

Marathon,     Arbela,     Chalons,     Blenheim,     Marengo, 
Austerlitz,  Waterloo. 

(f)  Hannibal's  Crossing  of  the  Alps. 

(g)  The  Visigoths  crossing  the  Danube, 
(h)     Horatius  at  the  Bridge. 

(i)  The  execution  of  Charles  I.,  or  of  Mary  Queen  of  Scots, 

(j)  Columbus  before  the  Council  of  Salamanca, 

(k)  The  discovery  of  the  New  World  by  Columbus. 

(1)  Any  other  historical  subject  that  may  be  assigned. 


Lesson  XLIX.— Biography  and  Travels. 


Biography  and  travels  may  well  be  considered  in  the  same 
chapter,  for  the  reason  that  the  latter,  at  least  as  we  shall  consider 
them  here,  are  really  one  phase  of  the  former.  A  person's  travels 
are  a  part  of  his  biography.  Then,  too,  both  of  these  subjects  of 
narration  are  largely  personal,  and  both  are  lacking  in  the  element 
of  complicated  plot. 

I.    BIOGRAPHY. 

1.  The  subject  includes  Biography  proper,  the  narrative  of  the 
life  history  of  another,  and  Autobiography,  the  narrative  of  the 
author's  own  life. 


I 


8« 


ENGLISH  COMPOSITION. 


2.  Details  to  be  selected  and  plan. 

(a)  General  statement  of  the  character's  place  in  history. 

(b)  Place  and  date  of  birth. 

(c)  Family — influence    of    home    surroundings   "upon    the 

character. 

(d)  Early  life  and  education. 

(e)  Life  work— how   it   happened  to  be  taken  up,   early 

failures  or  successes,  final  success,  main  incidents  of 
life  In  order  of  time. 

(f)  Great  achievements  classified  and  commented  upon. 

(g)  Personal  appearance. 

(h)     Character — illustrated  by  anecdotes  or  incidents. 

(i)     Friends  and  associates. 

(j)  Results  or  influences  of  his  life. 
This  plan  of  course  admits  of  a  great  deal  of  variation, 
according  to  the  subject.  For  example — one  might  begin  with  (c) 
(Example.  "Imagine  a  humble  cottage  and  a  family  of  poor 
peasants.  The  father,  etc.,  etc.  In  such  a  scene  as  this,  there  was 
bom,  etc,");  or  with  (j)  (Example.  "At  the  beginning  of  the 
sixth  century  after  Christ,  the  Arabs  were  an  aggregation  of  loosely 
joined  tribes  with  no  national  organization  and  with  little  influence 
upon  the  outside  world.  In  the  seventh  century,  we  find  them  etc. 
This  great  change  was  wrought  by  one  man,  Mohammed.")  The 
topic  (f)  may  be  omitted  entirely,  and  its  subject  matter  distributed 
throughout  (e). 

3.  In  autobiography,  at  least  such  as  students  in  school  would 
write,  of  course  no  such  elaborate  plan  is  necessary.  The  time 
order  is  followed  pretty  strictly,  and  incident  and  anecdote  are 
Introduced  freely  to  illustrate  and  give  life  to  the  narrative. 

L     Method  of  treatment. 

(a)  Prepare  a  plan,  or  outline,  before  you  begin  to  write. 

(b)  Do  not  copy  your  information  word  for  word  from  some 
encyclopedia  or  biography,  but  read  several  authorities  and  write 
from  memory  in  your  own  language.  This  is  the  only  honest  way 
of  course. 

(c)  Adopt  an  easy,  straightforward  style,  following  largely  the 
time  order.  This  time  order  may  be  varied  in  some  cases  by 
grouping  similar  facts  under  the  same  topic.  For  example — all  of 
an  author's  works  may  be  discussed  under  the  heading  "Works", 
though  some  of  these  books  may  have  been  written  after  events 
narrated  in  later  paragraphs. 


ENGLISH  COMPOSITION.  87 

(d)  Autobiography  should  be  written  in  a  simple,  conversa- 
tional style,  frankly,  and  without  making  yourse,lf  out  better  or 
worse  than  you  are. 

(e)  In  writing  biography,  look  well  to  varying  your  connective 

expressions.     Do  not  keep  constantly  repeating  "He  then  ",  "I 

next  ",  but  make  skillful  use  of  participial  and  other  conjunc- 
tive   phrases    and     dependent     clauses;      for     example — "Having 

completed  the  eighth  grade,  I ",  "When  I  was  six  years  old, 

we  ",  "Upon  the  completion  of ",  "His  father  having  lost 

his  fortune,  young  William  was  compelled  to ". 

5.  illustrations.  For  illustrations  of  short  biography,  see 
encyclopedia  articles,  biographies  of  authors  in  histories  of  English 
literature,  and  some  of  Macaulay's  essays,  such  as  the  essay  on 
Clive  or  the  life  of  Johnson. 

Exercises. 

1.  Write  a  short  biography  of  one  of  the  following: 

(a)  Some  author. 

(b)  Some  historical  character — statesman,  military  leader, 

or  reformer. 

(c)  Some  relative  of  your  family. 

(d)  Some  odd  character  that  you  know. 

2.  Write  the  story  of  your  own  life  (your  autobiography). 

11.     TRAVELS. 

1.  The  only  travels  that  you  should  write  about,  at  least  for 
the  present,  are  your  own  travels. 

2.  Details  to  be  selected  and  plan. 

(a)  Occasion   of   making   the   trip  or  journey — time   and 

place. 

(b)  Preparations   (briefly). 

(c)  The  start. 

(d)  Details  in  order  of  time — places  visited,  incidents  of 

the  journey,  but  not  every  small  detail. 

(e)  Short  descriptions  interspersed  through  (d). 

(f)  The  return. 

(g)  Results  and  comments,  if  worth  mentioning. 

3.  Method  of  treatment. 

(a)  Write  from  memory  or  from  your  own  notes;  do  not  copy 
from  some  guide  book  or  book  of  travels. 

(b)  Aim   to   make    your   account   entertaining   by   giving   it 


88  ENGLISH  COMPOSITION. 

human  interest.    Introduce  personal  experiences,  little  touches  of 
life,  and  the  like. 

(c)  Avoid  monotony  of  connectives  as  indicated  in  "Bio- 
graphy", 4,  e. 

(d)  Describe  interesting  things,  but  do  not  make  descriptions 
so  long  that  they  will  destroy  the  thread  of  your  narrative. 
Condense  them;     make  them  lively  and  realistic. 

4.  Illustrations  from  Irving,  Hawthorne,  Dickens,  Bayard 
Taylor,  and  more  recent  travellers,  may  be  read  to  the  class. 

Exercises. 
Write  an  account  of  one  of  the  following: 

(a)  Your  summer  vacation  travels. 

(b)  A  lake  trip,  if  you  have  taken  one. 

(c)  An  ocean  voyage,  if  you  have  made  one. 

(d)  Down  the  river  in  a  boat. 

(e)  A  trip  to  Chicago,  or  to . 

(f)  From to by  rail. 

(g)  From to by  automobile. 

(h)     From to by  boat. 

(i)     From to on  horseback. 

(j)     A  week  in  Washington,  or  in . 


Lesson  L.— Fiction. 


1.  We  shall  end  our  discussion  of  narration  with  those  forms 
of  narrative  composition  that  are  the  work  of  the  imagination. 
Supposedly,  the  narratives  that  we  have  written  thus  far,  at  least 
with  respect  to  their  plots,  have  been  true  and  taken  from  actual 
life.  Now  w«  shall  try  our  hand  at  "making  up"'  stories  of  our  own. 
Such  imagined  stories  are,  as  we  know,  called  Fiction. 

2.  The  way  to  go  about  writing  such  a  narrative  is  first  to  set 
your  imagination  at  work  on  four  different  problems: 

(a)  First,  you  try  to  think  out  some  theme  or  central  thought, 
or  problem,  or  situation,  that  will  work  out  into  a  story.  This  will 
be  the  text  of  your  story,  just  as  a  clergyman  has  a  text  for  his 
sermon,  though  you  are  not  to  state  this  text  at  the  beginning, 
after  the  manner  of  the  sermon.  Examples  of  such  themes  are — 
"A  rolling  stone  gathers  no  moss";     a  hard  heart  softened  by  a 


ENGLISH  COMPOSITION.  89 

bitter  experience;  a  juryman  learns  from  the  testimony  that  the 
defendant,  charged  with  murder,  is  his  own  long-lost  son — he 
believes  him  guilty — what  will  you  make  him  do? 

(b)  Having  decided  on  a  theme  (Suppose  it  to  be,  "A  hard 
heart  softened  by  a  bitter  experience"),  you  next  ask  yourself,  What 
kind  of  story,  or  plot,  or  series  of  incidents  will  illustrate  thia 
situation  and  work  out  this  problem?  Evidently  you  must  have  (1) 
some  incidents  illustrating  some  one's  hardness  of  heart,  (2)  some 
incidents  leading  up  to  the  bitter  experience,  (3)  an  incident 
narrating  the  bitter  experience,  (4)  some  incidents  that  exhibit  the 
softening  of  heart  and  the  results  of  this.  As  soon  as  you  begin  to 
figure  out  these  incidents,  you  find  that  — 

(c)  You  must  think  out  some  characters  to  act  out  these 
incidents.  To  illustrate — yoi;  decide  that  (1)  the  hard-hearted 
person  shall  be  a  rich  but  miserly  man,  who  has  (2)  a  lovely  young 
daughter  whom  he  loves,  in  his  cold  way,  but  whom  he  evidently 
does  not  love  so  much  as  he  loves  his  money;  he  has  (3)  a  private 
secretary,  who  falls  in  love  with  this  daughter.  For  a  time,  knowing 
that  the  father  wishes  to  arrange  a  rich  match  for  his  daughter, 
they  conceal  their  love  from  him,  but  finally  they  reveal  it.  In 
his  anger  the  father  strikes  his  daughter  down,  and  the  blow 
produces  temporary  insanity.  After  the  daughter  is  cared 
for,  the  secretary  in  a  violent  scene  upbraids  the  father 
and  leaves  his  employ.  That  night  the  father  analyzes 
his  own  character.  During  the  days  of  his  daughter's 
illness  he  visits  her  and  stays  by  her  bedside  constantly.  His  self- 
analysis,  his  sorrow,  and  the  sweetness  of  his  daughter's  temper, 
as  she  grows  better,  soften  his  harsh  nature,  and  when  at  last  she 
recovers,  he  is  a  changed  man.  He  hunts  up  the  secretary  and 
reunites  the  secretary  and  the  daughter. 

(d)  Finally,  you  must  decide  upon  a  place  and  time  that  will 
be  suitable  to  your  plot  and  your  characters;  that  is,  you  must 
determine  upon  your  setting. 

3.  Having,  then,  chosen  a  theme,  worked  out  a  plot,  and 
decided  upon  the  characters  and  the  setting,  everything  should  be 
rmooth  sailing.  Just  set  your  characters  to  acting  and  talking  as 
people  naturally  would  act  and  talk  in  such  situations,  and  your 
story  is  complete. 

4.  The  forms  of  fiction  that  we  shall  consider  are  Imaginary 
Autobiography,  Animal  Fables,  Fairy  Tales,  and  the  Short  Story. 
The  most  ambitious  form  of  fiction,  the  Novel,  we  shall  not  attempt 
to  discuss  further  than  to  say  that  all  of  the  principles  of  narration 
and  of  fiction  writing  set  forth  in  this  and  in  preceding  lessons 
apply  with  special  force  to  the  novel. 


90  ENGLISH  COMPOSITION. 

IMAGINARY  AUTOBIOGRAPHY,   ANIMAL   FABLES,   FAIRY 

TALES. 

1.  These  three  forms  of  fiction  have  this  common  character- 
istic, that  they  deal  with  the  impossible.  The  incidents  that  they 
recount  lie  entirely  within  the  realm  of  the  imagination,  and  unlike 
the  incidents  of  the  novel  or  the  short  story,  could  not  possibly 
take  place  in  real  life.  In  imaginary  autobiography,  some  object 
not  a  human  being  (for  example,  a  hat  or  a  rose)  relates  the  story 
of  its  life,  as  if  it  were  a  human  being;  in  the  fable,  dumb  animals 
or  other  objects  talk  and  think  and  act  like  human  beings,  usually 
to  illustrate  some  moral;  in  fairy  stories,  a  whole  world  of 
supernatural  beings  is  created  by  the  imagination  and  made  to  act 
before  us. 

2.  The  special  guiding  principle  that  you  are  to  bear  in  mind 
in  writing  this  species  of  fiction — besides  remembering  the 
directions  that  apply  to  all  narration — is,  that  you  are  to  try  to 
make  the  improbable  seem  probable,  and  the  unnatural  seem  natural. 
Do  this  by  making  characters,  plot,  and  setting  as  consistent  with 
one  another  as  possible.  The  scene  being  in  Fairyland,  for 
example,  and  all  the  surroundings  unnatural,  it  is  natural  to  have 
the  acts  and  the  characters  unnatural.  In  "Alice  in  Wonderland", 
everything  is  so  absurdly  impossible  that  people's  growing  tall  or 
short  at  random,  a  March  hare's  talking,  and  similar  Impossible 
things  are  the  only  things  possible. 

EXERCISES. 
Write  an  imaginary  autobiography  of  one  of  the  following: 

(a)  A  nickel. 

(b)  A  school  book. 

(c)  A  school  desk. 

(d)  An  old  hat  or  other  article  of  wearing  apparel. 

(e)  A  pie  or  other  article  of  cookery. 

(f)  Any  other  object  that  you  may  prefer. 

Note. — In  writing  this  kind  of  narrative,  adopt  the  easy,  col- 
loquial style  of  autobiography  in  general.  Imagine  yourself  to  be 
the  article  and  introduce  incidents  that  would  be  likely  and  possible 
in  the  life  of  such  an  article.  Know,  or  learn,  enough  about  your 
subject  to  make  its  imaginary  life  consistent  with  what  might 
be  the  real  facts  in  the  history  of  such  an  object.  For  example. 
If  a  rose  is  telling  her  life  hstory,  she  must  give  as  her  birthplace 
some  locality  where  roses  actually  grow  in  nature. 


ENGLISH  COMPOSITION.  91 

Lesson  LI.— Animal  Fables  and  Fairy  Tales, 

1.  These  two  classes  of  story  are  assigned  to  the  same  lesson 
in  order  that  you  may  choose  for  yourself  which  you  will  write. 
It  would  be  well  for  some  to  write  one  kind  and  some  the  other. 
Write,  then,  either  a  fable  or  a  fairy  story.  If  you  prefer,  make 
your  fairy  story  a  giant  story.  If  you  are  sure,  after  trial,  that 
you  cannot  write  an  original  story,  reproduce  in  your  own  words 
some  fable  or  fairy  story  that  you'  have  read  or  heard  toild.  This, 
however,  is  a  confession  of  weakness,  and  is  not  advised. 

2.  Fables.  The  terra  "fable"  in  its  wider  sense  applies  to 
any  brief  symbolical  story  which  seeks  to  illustrate  some  moral 
precept  by  the  acts  and  conversation  of  brutes.  Inanimate  objects, 
or  human  beings.  We  are  using  the  term  in  a  more  restricted  sense 
and  excluding  those  fables  (such  as  Aesop's  fable  of  "The  Father 
and  his  Sons")  in  which  human  beings  are  the  only  characters. 

In  writing  a  fable,  (a)  choose  a  moral  precept  that  the  fable  is 
to  illustrate;  (b)  be  brief;  (c)  write  in  a  plain,  conversational 
style;      (d)   introduce     conversation;  (e)  have  a  climax  that 

illustrates  the  moral.  " 

3.  Fairy  Stories. — The  term  as  here  used  includes  all  those 
stories  in  which  imaginary  supernatural  creatures  (except  ghosts) 
play  an  important  part.  It  includes  not  only  fairy  tales  proper, 
but  stories  of  giants,  gnomes,  brownies,  genii  (as  in  the  "Arabian 
Nights"),  and  similar  creatures. 

In  writing  such  tales,  (a)  create  the  right  "atmosphere"  for 
your  story  by  giving  it  a  fanciful  tone;  (b)  write  in  an  easy, 
conversational  style,  though  figurative  and  imaginative  language 
may  be  used  in  keeping  with  the  characters;  (c)  introduce  con- 
versation as  well  as  action;  (d)  have  some  "point"  to  the  story 
that  is  brought  out  by  the  climax. 

4.  For  illustrations,  read  some  of  Aesop's  fables  and  any  of  the 
celebrated  fairy  tales. 

Exercises. 

Write,  as  already  suggested  in  (1),  preceding,  either  a  fable 
or  a  fairy  story,  as  follows: 

1.  A  fable,  inventing  your  plot  and  your  animal  characters, 
and  choosing  for  your  moral  one  of  the  following: 

(a)  A  rolling  stone  gathers  no  moss. 

(b)  Familiarity  breeds  contempt. 


92  ENGLISH  COMPOSITION. 

(c)  Nothing  venture,  nothing  have. 

(d)  One  good  turn  deserves  another. 

(e)  Loolc  before  you  leap. 

(f)  No  place  lilce  home. 

(g)  Example  is  more  powerful  than  precept, 
(h)  Let  well  enough  alone. 

(i)     Contentment  is  better  than  riches, 
(j)     Pride  goeth  before  destruction. 

(k)  Any  other  proverb  or  moral  precept  that  you  prefer. 
If  you  cannot  work  up  any  of  the  preceding  themes  into  a 
fable,  you  might  try  the  following:  "The  Dog  and  the  Fox" — Moral, 
"Honesty  is  the  best  policy" — dog  a  watch  dog — earns  living 
honestly — fox  steals  for  living — fox  comes  to  bad  end — fox  dying 
admits  to  dog  truth  of  proverb. 
2.     A  fairy  story. 

Invent  a  fairy  or  a  giant  story  of  your  own,  or  if  you  are  sure 
you  cannot  originate  such  a  story,  try  one  of  the  following: 

(a)  Crumbly  Jake. 
Jake  always  complaining — falls  asleep  at  work — aroused  by 
fairies — complains — whisked  away  to  fairyland — complains — clothed 
magnificently  —  complains  —  fed  ^sumptuously  —  complains  —  made 
king  of  the  fairies — complains — pulled  from  throne  and  taken  back 
to  earth — conducted  by  fairies  to  various  scenes  of  misery — 
converted — content  thereafter  and  often  visited  by  the  fairies. 

(b)  The  Magic  Word. 
Little  boy,  son  of  poor  peasant,  lost  in  woods — stumbles  upon 
giant's  home — captured — locked  in  closet  till  morning — giant's  wife 
comes  home — giant  about  to  beat  her — she  uses  magic  word  she 
has  learned  while  away — giant  subdued  and  does  her  bidding — boy 
hears  word — next  morning  giant  drags  boy  out  to  eat  him — boy 
uses  magic  word — giant  subdued — boy  leads  him  away — finds  home 
— keeps  giant  and  makes  him  do  the  heavy  work  at  home. 


Lesson  LIL-The  Short  Story. 


1.  Loosely  speaking,  we  call  any  of  the  stories  of  Lesson  LI  short 
stories,  but  we  must  learn  to  use  the  term  in  a  more  restricted 
sense  in  the  present  lesson.    What  is  nowadays  technically  called 


ENGLISH  COMPOSITION.  99 

a  "Short  Story"  is  something  very  different  from  the  loose,  rambling 
tales  of  the  oldtime  story  tellers.  The  distinctive  characteristic  of 
the  modern  short  story  is,  that  it  attempts  to  condense  into  a  few 
hundred  words  the  situation^,  problems,  and  experiences  of  a  whole 
novel.  Indeed,  the  short  story  is  a  sort  of  miniature  novel,  having 
a  central  theme  or  problem  or  situation  that  it  aims  to  work  out 
with  the  same  materials  and  means  of  real-life  characters  andl 
incidents  that  we  find  in  the  longer  work  of  fiction. 

2.  The  method  of  the  short  story  is  as  follows: 

(a)  It  seizes  the  characters  and  the  Incidents  at  the 
moment  of  some  critical  situation,  and — only  incidentally 
or  by  suggestion  explaining  the  past, — 

(b)  It  rushes  them  on  with  rapid  strides  to  a  climax, 

(c)  Describing,  explaining,  and  narrating  minor 
incidents  with  a  few  swift  strokes,  and 

(d)  Avoiding  digressions  and  everything  else  that  does 
not  contribute  to  the  main  purpose. 

3.  The  short  story  not  having  room  for  everything,  the  writer 
must  decide  what  element  he  is  to  make  most  prominent.  If  he 
intends  to  make  the  plot  strong  (as  in  a  detective  story),  the 
characters  and  the  setting  will  have  to  be  treated  lightly.  If  his 
story  is  a  character  study,  the  plot  and  the  setting  will  be  less 
important.  If  he  wishes  to  picture  social  surroundings  or  the 
natural  scenery  of  a  certain  region, — that  is,  if  the  setting  is  made 
prominent,  the  other  two  will  be  slighted.  In  any  given  short 
story  that  you  write,  decide  which  feature  you  wish  to  emphasize, 
and  devote  your  attention  especially  to  it. 

4.  Now  reread  carefully  what  is  said  about  Narration  In 
general  in  Lesson  XLII  and  about  Fiction  in  general  in  Lesson  L. 
The  directions  and  suggestions  given  in  those  lessons  apply  with 
special  force  to  the  short  story. 

5.  The  best  way  to  get  an  understanding  of  the  character  and 
method  of  the  short  story  is  to  read  some  of  Hawthorne's,  Poe's, 
or  Kipling's  stories,  or  some  short  stories  from  the  better  class  of 
magazines.    One  of  these  might  be  read  in  the  class. 

Exercises. 
Write  a  short  story  of  a  thousand  words  or  so  on  one  of  the 
following  themes: 

(a)  A  fool  and  his  money  are  soon  parted. 

(b)  A  boy  who  is  the  Joke  of  the  school  becoming  the 

school  hero. 


H  ENGLISH  COMPOSITION. 

(c)  A  great  sacrifice  made  for  one  who  is  unaware  of  it 

and  who  learns  of  it  only  when  it  is  too  late. 

(d)  A  good  man  whose  one  great  error  of  the  past,  now 

atoned  for  and  imknown  by  his  associates,  is  revealed 
at  some  critical  moment. 

(e)  Heaping    coals    of    fire    (repaying    some    injury    with 

kindness) . 

(f)  A   boy   assuming   blame   for   some   serious   fault   com- 

mitted in  school  by  a  girl,  because — 

(g)  The  hare  and  the  tortoise — the  race  not  always  to  the 

swift, 
(h)     A    case    of    mistaken    identity    (either    humorous    or 

tragic). 
(I)     The  power  of  habit, 
(j)    A  mysterious  murder, 
(k)     A  mysterious  disappearance. 
(1)     A  mysterious  robbery, 
(m)  The  long  lost  will  discovered, 
(n)     The  ghost  In  the  school  tower. 
In  writing  your  story,  do  not  take  bodily  the  plot  of  some  story 
that  you  have  read  and  present  it  as  a  story  of  your  own.     That 
would  not  be  honest.     Make  up  your  own  plot. 


Lesson  LIU.— Exposition, 


1.  We  now  come  to  a  third  kind  of  composition,  which  in 
some  respects  is  easier  than  description  or  narration  and  in  some 
respects  is  harder.  This  is  Exposition,  or  as  it  might  be  called  more 
simply,  Explanation.  It  is  easier  than  description  and  narration  in 
that  it  does  not,  in  the  main,  call  upon  the  imagination  or  the 
creative  powers  of  the  mind,  but  rather  upon  the  intellect  and  the 
reasoning  powers.  It  is  harder  in  that  It  deals  with  abstract  and 
general  subjects  that  we  do  not  perceive  by  the  senses,  but  that  wo 
have  to  think  out  by  the  intellect. 

2.  Exposition,  stated  briefly,  is  explaining  the  meaning  of 
things,  and  the  things  thus  explained  are  not  particular  objects 
that  we  can  see,  hear,  and  feel,  but  general  ideas  that  exist  only 
in  the  mind, — for  exampe,  not  some  violet,  but  the  violet  In  general. 
If  our  subject  Is  some  particular  object  that  exists  and  that  we  can 


ENGLISH  COMPOSITION.  do 

perceive  (Example — Our  automobile),  we  describe;  but  If  our 
subject  is  a  general  class  of  objects  (Example — automobiles),  and 
if  we  are  expected  to  state  the  characteristic  common  to  all 
individuals  of  the  class  (Example — all  automobiles),  we  expound, 
or  employ  exposition.  If  our  subject  is  "Making  plate  glass  at 
the  Federal  Plate  Glass  Works",  we  narrate;  if  our  subject  Is 
"How  to  make  plate  glass",  in  general,  we  expound. 

3.  The  subjects  of  exposition  fall  under  two  classes: 

(a)  General  terms  (single  Ideas) — (1)  Objects  (ex. 
glass);  and  (2)   processes  (ex.  making  glass). 

(b)  General  propositions  (statements,  or  truths)  — 
Ex. — The  soul  of  man  is  immortal. 

4.  Exposition  involves,  or  may  Involve,  six  different  processes; 
that  is,  there  are  six  different  steps  in  the  full  exposition  of  a  term 
or  a  proposition: 

(a)  Definition — telling  what  It  Is;  what  qualities  or 
attributes  it  possesses. 

(b)  Giving  Examples — naming  Individual  members  of 
the  class  as  illustrations. 

(c)  Comparison — telling  what  It  Is  like. 

(d)  Contrast — telling  what  it  is  not  like. 

(e)  Division — telling  what  it  includes;  that  Is,  giving 
its  subdivisions,  or  telling  what  Individual  objects  the  term 
applies  to. 

(f)  Explanatory  Description  or  Narration — giving  the 
details  common  to  all  objects  or  processes  of  the  class; 
that  is,  describing  or  narrating  the  general  class 
characteristics. 

5.  Definition. 

(a)  To  define  a  term  is  to  tell  what  it  is.  There  are  several 
ways  of  doing  this,  but  we  shall  mention  only  two: 

1.  Definition  by  synonym;  that  is,  defining  a  term  by  giving 
another  that  means  the  same  thing.  Example — "The  trachea  is 
the  windpipe". 

2.  Logical  definition;  that  is,  stating  to  what  class  an 
object  belongs,  or  of  what  kind  it  Is,  and  then  telling  how  It  differs 
from  other  of  that  class.  This  is  called  defining  by  genus  (class) 
and  differentia  (difference).  It  is  the  only  really  exact  form  of 
definition.  Example — "An  acute  angle  is  an  angle  (kind  of  thing, 
or  genus)  that  is  less  than  a  right  angle  (how  different  from  other 
angles,  or  differentia). 


96  ENGLISH  COMPOSITION. 

(b)  The  general  term  that  defines  should  be  the  same  part  of 
speech  as  the  term  defined.  Example — Botany  (noun)  is  the 
science  (noun)  of  plant  life.  Do  not  define  by  childishly  using  a 
"when",  "where",  or  "if"  clause.  (Example — Pessimism  is  where 
you  look  on  the  dark  side  of  things). 

(c)  Definition  is  very  important  in  exposition.  Every  term 
used  should  be  defined  unless  you  are  sure  your  reader  under- 
stands it. 

(d)  Exercise. 

1.  Define  by  synonym:  cranium,  optimism,  eccentricity. 

2.  Define  by  genus  and  differentia:  an  exponent  (in 
algebra),  a  square,  a  tyrant  (in  Grecian  history).  Point 
out  in  each  case  what  the  genus  is  and  what  the  differentia. 

3.  Define:  a  "fly"  in  baseball,  an  "infield  fly",  a 
"credit"  in  school,  domestic  science. 

6.  The  value  of  examples  in  making  things  clear  is  self-evident. 
Every  lesson  of  this  treatise  illustrates  this  fact.  The  one  caution 
is,  that  you  must  be  sure  that  the  example  is  an  example  of  the 
term  under  consideration  and  not  of  something  else.  For 
illustration,  if  one  should  define  "an  impropriety"  as  "the  mistaken 
use  of  one  good  English  word  for  another  good  word",  which  is  a 
correct  definition,  and  then  go  on  to  give  as  examples,  "hadn't 
ought",  "bum",  and  "punk",  he  would  be  giving  examples  of 
impurities,  not  of  improprieties,  and  would  be  using  an  illustration 
that  did  not  illustrate. 

7.  Comparison  is  very  useful  in  making  things  clear.  To 
liken  a  term  to  one  that  the  reader  already  knows  is  almost  the 
quickest  way  to  give  him  an  approximate  notion  of  the  term. 
Example — "The  relation  between  negative  and  positive  terms  in 
algebra  is  like  the  relation  between  debts  and  assets;  a  minus  ten 
will  cancel  a  plus  ten,  just  as  a  ten  dollar  debt  will  take  away  the 
ten  dollars  that  you  have  in  your  possession." 

8.  Contrast,  or  telling  what  the  thing  is  not  like,  may  likewise 
be  employed  with  good  effect.  Example — "Narration  differs  from 
description  in  that  description  is  a  photograph  of  the  object  at 
one  point  of  time,  while  narration  is  a  moving  picture  of  the  object 
at  successive  moments  of  time."  Closely  related  to  contrast  is  the 
method  of  explaining  a  term  by  telling  what  it  is  not,  as  well  as 
what  it  is.  Example — "Education  is  not  pouring  information  into 
the  pupil,  but  drawing  out  his  faculties." 

9.  Division. 

(a)     Division  of  a  term  consists  in  stating     the     individual 


ENGLISH  COMPOSITION.  97 

members  or  the  subclasses  included  in  that  term.  Example — after 
defining  an  angle,  we  proceed  to  divide  the  term  by  stating  the 
different  kinds  of  angles,  or  classes  included  in  the  term  "angle": 
(1)  Definition— An  angle  is  the  figure  formed  by  two  straight  lines 
drawn  from  a  point;  (2)  Division — There  are  three  kinds  of  angles, 
acute,  obtuse,  and  right  angles. 

(b)  Ordinarily  a  term  may  be  divided  in  more  than  one  way, 
according  to  the  basis  upon  which  we  decide  to  classify  its  members. 
For  example,  classified  on  one  basis  (mode  of  expressing  the 
thought)  sentences  are  assertive,  interrogative,  or  imperative; 
classified  on  another  basis  (structure),  sentences  are  simple,  com- 
plex, and  compound.  This  basis  of  classification  upon  which  a 
term  may  be  divided  in  any  particular  case  is  called  the  principle 
of  division. 

(c)  Two  important  rules  must  be  observed  in  dividing  a  term: 

(1)  The  division  must  be  complete;  that  is,  the  sum  of  all 
the  subdivisions  must  equal  the  whole  term  that  is  divided.  No 
individuals  or  subclasses  of  the  term  must  be  left  out.  Example — 
in  the  division  of  angles  as  acute,  obtuse,  and  right,  all  angles  are 
included  and  accounted  for;  on  the  other  hand,  if  we  divide  the 
term  "government"  into  monarchies  and  democracies,  our  division 
is  incomplete,  for  we  have  omitted  oligarchies,  and  so  certain 
governments  are  unaccounted  for  in  our  classification. 

(2)  The  principle  of  division  (explained  in  (b))  must  not  be 
changed;  you  must  hold  to  the  same  basis  throughout  any  one 
classification.  No  one  of  the  subdivisions  may  include  any  members 
or  individuals  of  the  others.  Example — If  you  classify  sentences 
as  simple,  assertive,  complex,  and  compound,  you  have  changed 
your  principle  of  division,  because  "assertive"  may  include  any  one 
of  the  other  three.     This  error  is  called  cross-division. 

(d)  Exercises. 

Criticize  the  following  specimens  of  faulty  division  and  make 
a  correct  division  in  each  case: 

1.  The  kinds  of  composition  are  narration,  description, 
argumentation,  and  short  stories. 

2.  Numbers  in  algebra  are  either  integers,  fractions,  or 
radicals. 

3.  The  students  in  our  high  school  are  boys,  girls,  and  post 
graduates. 

10.     Explanatory  description  and  narration. 

Explanatory  description  consists  in  enumerating  and  describing 


98  ENGLISH    COMPOSITION. 

the  different  details  that  belong  In  common  to  all  individual 
members  of  the  class  described.  For  example,  in  explaining  what 
a  watch  is,  after  defining  it  you  go  on  to  mention  and  describe  the 
different  parts  that  belong  to  a  watch — ^the  case,  the  face,  the 
movement,  and  so  on.  This  differs  from  pure  description  in  that 
pure  descripition  deals  with  some  particular  watch,  which  might 
have  a  gold  case,  an  Elgin  movement,  etc.,  while  in  explanatory 
description  you  give  details  and  characteristics  that  belong  to  all 
watches  alike.  Likewise  in  explanatory  narration,  you  enumerate 
the  steps  of  a  process  wherever  it  is  carried  on,  not  of  some 
particular  instance  of  it;  for  example,  "How  bread  is  made",  not 
"How  I  made  a  loaf  of  bread". 

11.  The  language  of  exposition  should  be  above  all  things 
clear  and  precise.  You  should  employ  words  of  the  exact  meaning 
that  you  intend  to  convey.  Do  not  use  words  loosely;  do  not  say 
"thing"  if  you  mean  "apparatus,"  "  machine",  or  "device".  Be  sure 
to  distinguish  between  synonyms  (words  that  have  the  same 
general  meaning,  but  that  differ  in  degree  or  shade  of  meaning). 
For  example,  do  not  say  "same"  if  you  mean  "like",  "square"  if 
you  mean  "oblong",  "middle"  if  you  mean  "centre". 

12.  The  general  style  of  exposition  is  naturally  more  plain, 
direct,  and  straightforward  than  that  of  narration  or  of  description. 
There  is  less  occasion  for  ornament,  epithet,  figures  of  speech,  and 
the  like.  Still,  this  does  not  mean  that  the  style  must  be  entirely 
devoid  of  life.  Apt  comparisons,  illustrations,  variety  in  form  of 
expression,  will  enliven  even  an  apparently  "prosy"  subject. 

13.  Finally, — and  this  is  very  important — it  is  almost  impossible 
to  write  a  clear  exposition  of  any  length  without  first  thinking  out 
and  writing  down  an  Outline,  or  Plan,  of  your  composition.  If  you 
once  get  a  good  working  outline,  the  battle  is  half  won,  for  you 
then  have  your  subject  well  thought  out  and  well  in  hand,  and 
can  go  ahead  and  expand  the  outline  without  worrying  about  what 
is  to  come  next. 

In  making  the  subdivisions  of  your  outline,  be  sure  to  observe 
the  directions  with  regard  to  "Division"  in  section  9,  of  this 
lesson.  Especially  beware  of  cross-division,  and  as  you  take  up 
each  new  principle  of  division,  indicate  clearly  what  that  new  basis 
of  classification  is.  Number  your  divisions,  subdivisions,  and 
sub-subdivisions  differently,  using  Roman  numerals,  Arabic  figures, 
and  letters  for  this  purpose.  Indent  each  subdivision  further  than 
the  division  of  which  it  is  a  part.  Underscore  important  words. 
The  following  is  given  as  a  specimen  of  outline: 


ENGLISH  COMPOSITION.  S» 

MONEY. 
I.    What  it  is. 
II.    Its  usee. 

1.  A  medium  of  exchange. 

2.  A  measure,  or  standard,  of  value. 

3.  A  standard  for  debts. 

III.  Its  material. 

1.  Various  substances  other  than  metals. 

2.  Metals  other  than  precious  metals. 

3.  The  precious  metals. 

4.  Paper. 

a.  Issued  by  banks. 

b.  Issued  by  government. 

IV.  Which  material  is  best. 

1.  The  qualities  that  are  requisites  of  a  good  money. 

2.  Absence  of  some  of  these  qualities  in — 

a.  Substances  other  than  metals. 

b.  Non-precious  metals. 

c.  Paper. 

8.     Presence  of  these  qualities  in  the  precious  metals. 
4.    Precious  metals,  therefore,  the  only  suitable  money. 


Lesson  LIV,— Exposition  Related  to  Description, 

(Manufactured  objects  and  mechanical  contrivances.) 

1.  Exposition  of  this  character  consists  in  explaining  the  facts 
that  are  common  to  all  objects  of  the  class  named  by  your  subject; 
for  example,  the  facts  common  to  all  clocks,  if  "Clocks"  is  your 
subject.  If  you  were  setting  forth  the  facts  about  a  particular 
object  of  this  class  (Example — Grandfather's  clock),  your  com- 
position would  be  description. 

2.  Method  of  treatment. 

(a)  Be  sure  to  give  only  class  characteristics;  do  not  bring 
in  any  individual  details  that  do  not  apply  to  all  members  of  the 
given  class.  For  example,  do  not  say  in  explaining  clocks,  "On 
the  face  the  twedve  hours  are  marked  in  Roman  numerals",  because 
they  are  not  marked  in  Roman  numerals  on  ail  clocks. 


100  ENGLISH   COMPOSITION. 

(b)  You  will  have  to  use  technical  terms;  that  Is,  terms 
belonging  especially  to  your  subject,  and  having  a  special 
meaning  when  applied  to  it  (as  "escapement",  "movement",  for  a 
clock  or  a  watch).  When  you  use  them  be  sure  their  meaning  is 
explained  by  terms  familiar  to  your  readers. 

(c)  A  very  useful  device  in  explaining  objects,  especially 
mechanical  contrivances,  is  the  diagram.  Diagrams,  used  to 
illustrate  the  text  and  with  parts  numbered  or  lettered  for  reference, 
are  almost  indispensable  in  explaining  complicated  machines. 

3.     Details  to  be  selected  and  plan. 

(a)  What  the  object  is — definition. 

(b)  Expansion    of   the   definition — comparisons,    contrasts, 

etc. 

(c)  Examples  if  necessary. 

(d)  Explanatory  description  (with  diagrams  if  necessary). 

(e)  Kinds  (Division  of  the  subject). 

(f)  Uses. 

(g)  History  of  its  invention  or  use  (if  notable), 
(h)  Comments  or  suggestions. 

This  order  will  of  course  be  varied  according  to  your  subject. 
For  example,  either  (f)  or  (e)  might  follow  (b).  Frequently  (h) 
will  not  be  necessary  or  suitable. 

Exercises. 

1.  Write  a  400  or  500  word  composition  on  one  of  the  following 
subjects: 

(a)  The  roll-top  desk  or  some  other  piece  of  furniture. 

(b)  Some  kitchen  utensil. 

(c)  The  umbrella. 

(d)  The  thermometer. 

(e)  The  foimtain  pen. 

(f)  Any  other  manufactured  article  of  a  simple  kind  that 

may  be  assigned. 

2.  Write  a  400  or  500  word  composition  on  one  of  the  following 
subjects : 

(a)  The  lawn  mower. 

(b)  The  carpet  sweeper. 

(c)  The  violin  or  some  other  musical  instrument. 

(d)  The  microscope. 

(e)  The  elevator. 


ENGLISH  COMPOSITION.  101 

(f)  The  telephone. 

(g)  The  phonograph, 
(h)     The  air  pump. 

(I)     The  steam  engine. 

(j)     Any  other  machine  or  mechanical  contrivance. 


Lesson  LV.— Exposition  Related  to  Description. 

(Objects  in  Nature.) 


1.  This  kind  of  composition  is,  for  the  most  part,  scientific 
description  of  natural  objects, — giving  the  facts  common  to  all 
objects  of  a  given  class  as  distinguished  from  those  facts  that  are 
merely  accidental  and  belonging  to  individual  members  of  the  class. 
Subjects  under  this  classification  are  such  subjects  as,  "The  camel", 
"Bees",  "Coal". 

2.  Method  of  treatment. 

(a)  Note  what  is  said  about  exposition     In     general     in 

Lesson  LIII. 

(b)  Note  here,  too,  as  in  Lesson  LIV,  2,  a,  the  necessity 

of  confining  your  details  to  general  and  class  facts. 

(c)  Observe  the   same  rule   as  to  technical   terms  as   in 

Lesson  LIII,  2,  b.  For  example,  you  will  use  such 
terms  as  "petals",  "calyx",  "vertebrae",  "dorsal  fin", 
and  the  like;  be  sure  that  they  are  explained  or 
understood. 

(d)  Diagrams    or    illustrations    are    useful,    especially    to 

show  structural  arrangement  of  parts  (internal  organs 
of  animals,  seeds  of  apple). 

S.     Details  to  be  selected  and  plan. 

(a)  What  the  object  is — definition. 

(b)  Expansion  of  the  definition  by  comparisons,  contrasts, 

etc. 

(c)  Examples  (if  necessary). 

(d)  Explanatory    description — form,    structure,    parts    and 

their  uses  (with  diagrams  if  necessary). 

(e)  Kinds — division  of  the  subject. 

(f)  Distribution — where  it  is  found  in  nature. 

(g)  Practical  uses. 


102 


ENGLISH  COMPOSITION. 


This  order  may  be  changed  for  variety.    For  example,  some- 
times (g)  or  (f)  may  be  placed  first. 

Exercises. 

1.  Write  a  400  or  500  word  composition  on  one  of  the  following 
subjects: 

(a)  The  dog  or  some  other  domestic  animal. 

(b)  The  Hon  or  some  other  wild  animal. 

(c)  The  butterfly  or  some  other  insect. 

(d)  The  carp  or  some  other  fish. 

(e)  The  earthworm. 

2.  Write  a  400  or  500  word  composition  on  one  of  the  following 
subjects:  ■  i:'  • 

(a)  The  rose  or  some  other  flower. 

(b)  The  apple  or  some  other  fruit. 

(c)  The  oak  or  some  other  tree. 

(d)  Maize  (Indian  corn)  or  some  other  grain. 

(e)  The  potato  or  some  other  vegetable. 

(f)  Coal  or  some  other  mineral. 

(g)  Iron  or  some  other  metal. 


Lesson  LVL—Exposition  of  Types  of  Humanity 
and  Human  Institutions. 

1.  These  are  subjects  that  present  a  wide  field  for  the  writer. 
Such  themes  as  "The  truly  wise  man",  "The  clown",  "The  dude", 
•'The  new  woman",  "The  agitator",  are  what  we  mean  by  "types 
of  humanity".  Under  the  classification,  "Human  institutions" 
would  come  Bu:ch  subjects  as  "Our  public  school  system",  "Tho 
ideal  high  school",  "Manual  training  in  schools",  "The  town  meeting 
in  Illinois",  "Temperance  reform",  and  the  like. 

2.  Method  of  treatment. 

The  method  of  treating  these  varies  with  the  subject  and  with 
the  way  of  viewing  it.  Do  not  "preach"  too  much.  Do  not  indulge 
In  vague  ideas;  know  what  you  are  writing  about.  Be  sincere  and 
straightforward.  Use  examples  freely.  Explain  merely,  do  not 
argue.    Note  again  carefully  the  directions  given  in  Lesson  LIII. 

3.  Details  and  plan. 

The  subjects  under  these  classifications  are  so  varied  and  so 


ENGLISH  COMPOSITION.  103 

different  that  no  set  plan  or  even  suggestive  plan  can  be  made  out 
that  will  cover  them  all.  However,  when  you  have  selected  your 
subject  and  worked  it  up,  before  you  begin  to  write  be  sure  to  make 
an  outline,  or  plan.  This  kind  of  theme  especially  requires  an 
outline  in  order  to  prevent  one  from  writing  in  a  rambling,  dis 
connected  style. 

Exercises. 
Write  a  composition  of  500  words  or  so  on  one  of  the  following 
subjects : 

(a)  One  of  the  subjects  mentioned  in  (1). 

(b)  Algebra  or  some  other  high  school  study. 

(c)  Local  option. 

(d)  City  government  in  Illinois. 

(e)  The  "sport". 

(f)  The  boy  who  has  too  much  money  to  spend. 

(g)  The  girl  who  wants  to  be  considered  a  "young  lady", 
(h)     The  truly  educated  man. 

(i)     Harmful  ways  of  spending  one's  leisure  moments, 
(j)     The  newspaper, 
(k)     Popular  superstitions. 
(1)     The  power  of  habit. 

(m)  Any  other  subject  of  a  similar  character  suggested  by 
your  teacher. 


Lesson  LVIL— Exposition  Related  to  Narration, 

(Processes  of  Construction,  Human  Activities,  ,and  Natural 
Phenomena.) 


1.  This  form  of  exposition  is  related  to  narration  In  that  it 
treats  of  action,  but  differs  from  it  in  that  the  actions  are  the 
a,ctivities  common  to  a  Whole  class,  and  not  the  particular  acts, 
of  particular  individuals,  as  in  narration. Examples  of  this  kind  of 
themes  are  "Glass  making",  "How  pianos  are  made",  "Making  a 
kite",  "Running  a  steam  engine",  "The  game  of  baseball",  "How  to 
play  bridge",  "How  ants  build  their  nests",  "How  a  crop  of  com 
is  raised",  "How  to  rear  a  child",  "How  plants  grow",  "Cyclones", 
"Earthquakes".  You  will  note  that  while  these  subjects  vary 
greatly  in  their  range,  they  all  belong  under  this  classification, 
because  they  explain  certain  general  classes  of  activity. 


104  ENGLISH  COMPOSITION. 

2.  All  the  general  directions  for  exposition  apply  here  of 
course,  (Review  Lesson  LlII),  and  many  of  the  rules  of  narration. 
The  general  style  will  be  plain  and  straightforward,  though  some 
of  the  subjects  permit  more  vividness  of  language  than  others 
(examples,  glass  making,  tornadoes).  Keep  in  mind  that  you  are 
trying  to  explain  to  some  one  who  does  not  understand,  rather  than 
that  you  are  describing  for  literary  effect.  This  holds  true  even 
for  a  subject  like  "Earthquakes"  or  "Cyclones". 

3.  Details  to  be  selected  and  plan. 

(a)  Definition  of  the  term  if  necessary  and  brief  explana- 

tion of  it. 

(b)  Details  of  the  process  or  the  activity,  whatever  it  may 

be,  in  order  of  time. 

(c)  Comments    In   a   general     way — importance     of     the 

activity — or  benefits  of  it — or  results  of  it — or  folly 
of  it — or  where  carried  on — or  the  like. 

Exercises. 
Write  a  composition  of  500  words  or  so  on  one  of  the  following 
subjects: 

(a)  One  of  the  subjects  given  in  (1). 

(b)  An  ideal  recitation. 

(c)  The  game  of  basket  ball  or  any  other  game. 

(d)  Making  a  shirt  waist  or  some  other  article  of  wearing 

apparel. 

(e)  How  to  make  a  sled  or  some  similar  article. 

(f)  How  to  fish  for  — . 

(g)  How  to  hunt  — . 

(h)     How  to  repair  some  article, 
(i)     The  process  of  clay  modeling. 


Lesson  LVIIL—Argumentation. 


1.  We  now  come  to  the  last  general  kind  of  composition  that 
we  shall  discuss,  argument,  or  argumentation,  as  it  is  sometimes 
called.  Argumentation  is  the  form  of  composition  in  which  the 
writer  seeks  to  prove  the  truth  of  some  statement.  The  subject 
of  argument  must  always  be  what  is  called  a  proposition.  A 
proposition,  as  distinguished  from  a  term,  is  a  sentence,  and  it 
always  contains  two  terms,  the  relation  between  which  is  stated  in 


ENGLISH  COMPOSITION.  106 

the  proposition.  (For  example — "School  examinations"  is  a  term, 
and  "Abolished"  is  a  term.  If  we  connect  them  by  a  word  showing 
some  relationship  between  them,  as  "should  be",  we  have  a 
proposition — "School  examination  should  be  abolished.")  Whatever 
the  subject  we  wish  to  prove,  it  must  be  a  proposition.  One  cannot 
prove  a  term. 

2.  Argument  ought  not  to  be  very  difficult,  because  most 
people  like  to  argue,  and  we  do  more  or  less  arguing  all  the  time. 
But  the  sort  of  argument  that  we  hear  is  generally  pretty  loose  and 
careless.  The  fact  is,  that  formal  argument  such  as  we  are  now 
discussing  requires  great  care,  for  if  we  are  not  careful  we  shall 
make  mistakes  alike  in  our  facts,  in  our  evidence,  and  in  our  mode 
of  reasoning. 

3.  Before  beginning  to  write  or  prepare  an  argument,  the  writer 
must  attend  carefully  to  the  following  points: 

(a)  He  must  decide  just  exactly  what  he  is  going  to  try 

to  prove. 

(b)  He  must  decide  upon  the  form  of  reasoning  that  he  is 

going  to  adopt. 

(c)  He  must  decide  where  the  burden  of  proof  lies. 

(d)  He  must  make  a  careful  and  full  outline,  or  brief,  as 

it  is  called,  of  his  argument. 

4.  A  great  deal  of  confusion  often  arises  from  the  fact  that 
those  who  argue  do  not  have  clearly  in  mind  just  what  they  expect 
to  prove,  and  so  they  either  try  to  prove  too  much  or  too  little. 
Sometimes  in  a  debate  the  persons  on  one  side  have  one  under- 
standing of  the  question,  and  those  on  the  other  a  different 
understanding.  This  confusion  will  be  avoided  if  the  proposition 
to  be  argued  is  stated  in  terms  about  which  there  can  be  no 
mistake.  For  example,  suppose  the  proposition  were,  "Resolved 
that  high  school  studies  should  be  elective."  It  should  be  made 
plam  what  the  term  "elective"  means,  and  also,  whether  you  mean 
all  high  school  studies,  or  just  some  high  school  studies. 

5.  Tile  Form  of  Reasoning. 

There  are  two  general  methods  of  reasoning,  or  modes  of 
proving  truth,  induction  and  deduction. 

(a)  In  the  method  known  as  inductive  reasoning  we  examine 
a  number  of  particular  facts,  and  noticing  certain  respects  in  which 
they  agree,  we  establish  from  this  agreement  a  general  truth,  or 
law.  For  example,  we  notice  that  aluminum,  copper,  iron,  gold, 
silver,  lead,  zinc,  and  various  other  metals  are  good  conductors  of 
heat.    From  these  separate  facts  we  infer  that  all  metals  are  good 


106  ENQUSH  COMPOSITION. 

conductors  of  heat,  thus  establishing  a  general  law.  This  is  called 
Induction.  But  no  Induction  can  be  perfect  unless  you  have 
observed  all  the  possible  instances  that  could  come  under  the 
class.  If  you  should  find  one  metal  that  did  not  conduct  heat 
your  entire  reasoning  would  fall.  However,  almost  all  our 
knowledge  is  based  upon  induction. 

(b)  On  the  other  hand,  by  the  method  known  as  deduction  or 
deductive  reasoning,  we  reason  from  general  truths  to  particular 
facts.  Having  established  by  induction  what  we  consider  to  be 
the  truth,  that  all  metals  are  good  conductors  of  heat,  and 
observing  that  tin  is  a  metal,  we  reason  that  tin  is  a  good  conductor 
of  heat.  In  deductive  reasoning  we  have  two  propositions  called 
premises,  and  from  these  we  draw  the  conclusion.  The  fijrst 
proposition,  called  the  major  premise,  is  a  general  truth.  ("All 
metals  are  good  conductors  of  heat. ')  The  second,  called  the, 
minor  premise,  is  a  particular  fact.  ("Tin  is  a  metal.")  If  these 
premises  are  both  true,  and  there  is  a  logical  connection  between 
the  two  truths,  the  conclusion  is  correct.  If  either  premise  is 
false,  the  conclusion  is  false. 

(c)  Now  in  writing  an  argument,  you  will  probably  use  both 
of  these  kinds  of  reasoning.  If  you  try  to  prove  anything 
inductively  you  must  be  sure  that  you  have  a  sufficient  number  of 
facts  to  make  your  inference  reasonably  certain.  If  you  try  to 
prove  anything  deductively  you  must  watch  out  for  three  things; 
first,  that  the  major  premise  is  true,  second,  that  the  minor  premise 
is  true,  and  third,  that  when  joined  together,  a  conclusion  follows. 
Even  If  both  premises  are  true,  a  conclusion  may  not  foftlow  If 
there  is  no  logical  connection  between  the  truths.  For  example — 
Major  premise — All  United  States  senators  are  men;  minor 
premise — Some  men  are  negroes;  conclusion — Therefore  some 
United  States  senators  are  negroes.  This  conclusion  does  not 
follow  at  all,  in  fact  is  not  true,  though  both  premises  are  true. 

(d)  Another  form  of  reasoning  is  what  is  called  reasoning  by 
analogy.  It  Is  really  a  form  of  inductive  reasoning.  In  this  you 
reason  that  because  certain  conclusions  followed  certain  conditions 
in  a  given  case  similar  to  the  one  that  you  are  considering,  the 
same  conclusions  will  follow  in  the  latter  case.  For  example, 
because  the  growth  of  wealth  and  luxury  overthrew  the  Roman 
Republic,  people  sometimes  argue  that  the  increase  of  wealth  and 
luxury  in  the  United  States  will  destroy  our  nation.  Argument 
from  analogy  is  very  effective,  but  one  must  be  careful  that  the 
likeness  between  the  two  cases  compared  is  complete,  and  that 
no  new  element  appears  In  the  case  that  you  are  arguing  that  would 
prevent  a  conclusion  similar  to  that  in  the  first  case.    For  example, 


ENGLISH  COMPOSITION.  107 

so  many  new  conditions  exist  in  the  United  States  that  were  not 
present  in  Greece  or  Rome,  that  wealth  and  luxury  may  not  have 
the  same  destructive  effect  with  us  as  with  the  ancients. 

6.  The  Burden  of  Proof. 

The  burden  of  proof  means  the  necessity  of  overcoming  what  is 
called  the  presumption  in  favor  of  one's  opponent  in  the  argument. 
It  means  that  one  upon  whom  rests  the  burden  of  proof  is  handi- 
capped, BO  to  speak,  by  having  to  establish  his  position  by  positive 
arguments,  and  that  all  his  opponent  need  do  is  to  refute  or  disprove 
these  arguments.  For  example,  in  a  criminal  case  the  defendant  is 
presumed  to  be  innocent,  and  the  burden  of  proof  rests  upon  the 
prosecution  to  prove  that  he  is  guilty.  If  then,  the  burden  of 
proof  rests  upon  your  opponent,  all  you  have  to  do  is  to  refute  his 
arguments.  If,  however,  the  burden  of  proof  rests  upon  you,  it  is 
necessary  to  build  up  strong  arguments  to  establish  your  position. 
The  burden  of  proof  always  rests  on  the  debater  (1)  who  seeks  to 
estab,lish  some  new  proposition  or  (2)  to  overthrow  or  change 
existing  institutions  or  conditions. 

7.  General   Plan  of  an  Argument. 

(a)  Introduction — statement,and  careful  explanation  of  the 
meaning  of  the  proposition  that  you  are  to  argue.  Possibly  some 
explanation  of  your  position  and  the  position  of  your  readers,  or 
hearers,  on  the  subject. 

(b)  Body  of  the  Argument. 

1.  One  of  your  stronger  arguments. 

2.  Other   arguments   logically   arranged,   and   growing   in 

strength. 

3.  Your  strongest  argument  at  the  end. 

4.  Refutation    (answering   opponent's   argument). 

5.  Conclusion — summing  up  of  your  several  arguments. 

8.  In  preparing  a  brief,  or  outline,  of  your  argument,  great 
care  should  be  taken  in  writing  down  the  headings.  The  main 
arguments  should  be  numbered  differently  from  the  subdivisions 
under  them,  and  the  sub-subdivisions  should  be  numbered 
differently  from  the  subdivisions.  In  doing  this,  Roman  numerals, 
Arabic  figures,  and  letters  may  be  used..  Indent  each  subdivision 
further  than  the  heading  of  the  division  of  which  it  is  a  part. 
Underscore  important  words. 

9.  A  specimen  brief. 

BRIEF. 
Question — Resolved,  That  a  series  of  interclass  track  meets 


108  ENGLISH  COMPOSITION. 

is  a  better  form  of  fall  athletics  for  the  boys  of  a  high  school  than 
football. 

A.  Introduction. 

I.  It  is  assumed  that  but  one  of  these  forms  of  athletics  can 
be  maintained  in  the  school  at  the  time  specified. 

II.  It  is  not  contended  that  football  should  be  excluded  if  both 
forms  were  practicable  at  the  same  time. 

III.  But  it  is  contended  that  where  only  one  form  is  practicable, 
the  track  meet  is  the  better  form. 

B.  Brief    Proper   . 

I.  The  purpose  of  athletics  in  a  high  school  is  to  provide  for 
the  boys — 

1.  Healthful  sports. 

2.  Physical  training. 

3.  Incentive  to  do  good  school  work  in  order  that  they 
may  take  part  in  athletics. 

4.  And  to  provide  these  to  the  greatest  number  possible. 

II.  Track  athletics  provide  at  least  equally  well  with  football: 

1.  Healthful  sport, 

2,  Incentive  to  do  good  work. 

III.  They   provide   better  than   does   football     a     system     of 
physical  training;     because — 

1.  The  exercise  furnished  by  them  is  more  varied; 

2.  They  are  a  less  violent  strain  upon  the  body  and  the 

nervous  system; 

3.  They  do  not  require  so  severe  a  preliminary  training; 

4.  This   preliminary   training   for  them   does   not  take   po 

much  time  from  other  pursuits. 

IV.  They  provide  training  for  a  greater  number  of  students 
than  does  football;    because — 

1.  There  are  more  events  to  take  part  in; 

2.  Any  number  of  students  can  take  part  in  any  event; 

3.  Only   those    physically   very    rugged   can   take   part   in 

football;     this  is  not  the  case  with  track  athletics. 

V.  They  are  easier  to  support  financially  than  football;     be- 
cause— 

1.    Their  actual  cost  Is  less;    because — 

a.  The  equipment  is  less  expensive; 

b.  No  out  of  town  trips  are  required. 


ENGLISH  COMPOSITION.  109 

2.    They  draw  better  crowds. 

VI.  They  are  more  favored  by  the  public  and  the  parents  than 
is  football  because — 

1.  The  public  considers  them  more  interesting; 

2.  Many  persons  object  to  football,  but  none  to  track  meets. 

VII.  There  are  serious  objections  to  football,  on  the  ground 
that 

1.  It  is  brutal; 

2.  It   cultivates    unsportsman-like   conduct   and   unfairness 

in  players; 

3.  It  cultivates  a  rowdy  and  "sporty"  spirit  among  students ; 

VIII.  None    of   these    objections    are   advanced    against   track 
athletics. 

IX.  Experience   has   proved  the   advantage  of  track  athletics 
over  football — 

1.  In  other  schools; 

2.  In  our  own  school. 

C.     Conclusion. 
Summary — Track    athletics    therefore    better      than      football, 
because (1)    they   provide  the  same   sport  and  incentive  to  work; 
(2)  etc.,  summarize  reasons. 


Lesson  LIX. 

Write  an  argument  on  one  side  or  the  other  (affirmative  or 
negative)  of  one  of  the  following  subjects.  Be  sure  to  draw  up  a 
brief  before  writing. 

(a)  Every  boy  or  girl  who  can  afford  it  should  pursue  a  four 
years'  high  school  course. 

(b)  All  the  studies  of  the  high  school  course  phould  be 
elective. 

(c)  Ancient  history,  algebra,  and  geometry  should  not  be 
required  as  a  condition  for  graduation  from  a  high  school. 

(d)  Co-educational  high  schools  should  be  done  away  with,  and 
separate  high  schools  should  be  maintained  for  boys  and  for  girls. 

(e)  Every  high  school  student  should  study  some  foreign 
language  for  at  least  two  years. 

(f)  Women  should  have  the  right  to  vote  at  all  elections. 

(g)  The  city  should  own  the  street  railway  system. 


110  ENGLISH  COMPOSITION. 

(h)  The  operation  of  Ave  cent  theatres,  skating  rinks,  and 
public  amusement  parks  is  harmful  to  the  community  in  which 
they  operate. 

(i)  Luxurious  living  on  the  part  of  the  wealthy  is  an  advantage 
to  the  community. 

(j)  If  a  person  can  have  only  one  of  them,  to  the 
exclusion  of  the  other,  education  is  a  better  possession  than  wealth. 


Lesson  LX.— Debate, 

1.  In  Lesson  LVIII  we  discussed  argumentation  in  general 
and  some  of  the  rules  governing  it.  The  most  useful  form  of 
argumentation  for  high  school  students  is  oral  debate.  Indeed,  it 
is  so  important  that  we  shall  give  a  separate  lesson  to  it.  The 
ability  to  think  out  logically  your  reasons  for  believing  in  a  certain 
way,  and  the  ability  to  stand  up  and  give  those  reasons  in  a  well 
connected  and  well  worded  little  talk,  are  worth  striving  hard  to 
attain,  and  it  is  the  duty  of  the  school  to  see  that  you  get  the 
training  and  the  practice  that  help  you  to  succeed  in  this  effort. 

2.  Of  course  all  the  rules  of  Lesson  LVIII  (which  you  should 
here  review)  governing  argument  in  general  apply  also  to  debate, 
but  there  are  some  additional  special  directions  for  the  latter  that 
it  is  worth  while  to  consider. 

3.  Preliminary  organization   and  arrangements. 

(a)  It  would  be  well  for  all  the  classes  of  the  school  to 
organize  debating  clubs.  An  executive  committee,  or  committee 
on  arrangements,  might  be  elected,  and  this  committee  might 
choose  a  presiding  officer  and  a  secretary  for  each  debate,  the 
secretary  to  keep  a  short  record  of  the  debate  and  its  outcome. 
The  committee  might  also  appoint  four  leaders  of  debate  for  each 
session.  These  leaders  meet  and  decide  upon  a  question,  two  of 
them  taking  the  affirmative,  and  two  the  negative  side  of  the 
question.  The  leaders  may  also,  if  that  is  thought  desirable,  choose 
other  debaters  who  shall  be  prepared  to  say  a  few  words  on  their 
respective  sides  of  the  question,  after  the  four  leaders  have  finished. 

(b)  In  choosing  a  question,  those  who  are  to  debate  should 
agree  on  just  exactly  what  the  question  is;  what  is  to  be  argued; 
what  is  to  be  conceded  by  both;  and  what  is  not  included.  The 
question  should  state  fully  and  very  definitely,  what  is  to  be  proved 
and   what   the   various   conditions   are.    For   example,    "Resolved, 


■^ 


ENGUSH  COMPOSITION.  Ill 

That  a  boy  just  graduated  from  the  grammar  school  will  in  four 
years  be  better  trained  for  business,  by  pursuing  a  four  years' 
course  in  a  good  high  school  in  which  he  studies  bookkeeping  and 
stenography  along  with  the  usual  high  school  subjects,  than  he 
would  be  trained  for  business  by  pursuing  a  year's  course  in  a 
business  college,  and  then  spending  three  years  in  a  retail  store." 
Notice  how  in  this  question  every  condition  is  explicitly  stated. 
Of  course  not  every  question  will  be  quite  so  complicated  as  this 
question,  but  whatever  it  is,  it  should  be  stated  as  fully  as  its 
character  demands. 

(c)  In  general,  the  subject  chosen  should  be  one  that  the 
debaters  and  their  audience  are  interested  in,  and  also  one  about 
which  they  know  something  or  can  gather  original  information. 
Avoid  such  subjects  as,  "Resolved,  That  fire  is  more  destructive  than 
water",  or  "That  Lincoln  was  greater  than  Washington".  Aside 
from  the  fact  that  they  cannot  be  proved  either  way,  it  is  of  no 
importance  that  they  be  argued  at  all. 

4.     Preparation  for  the  debate. 

(a)  At  least  two  weeks  should  be  allowed  for  preparation. 

(b)  In  preparing  a  debate  you  should  be  sure  to  draw  up 
a  brief  in  accordance  with  the  directions  and  the  model  given  in 
Lesson  L,VIIl.  Using  this  brief  as  an  outline,  construct  your  speech 
by  expanding  the  several  topics  of  the  brief  into  sentences  and 
paragraphs.  Oo  not  write  these  down,  but  say  them  over  to  yourself, 
at  times  aloud,  until  you  have  your  argument  well  fixed  in  mind. 
But  do  not  memorize  a  set  speech.  You  should,  however,  know 
pretty  well  what  you  are  going  to  say,  in  order  that  when  you  get 
up  to  talk  on  the  fateful  day,  you  may  not  hesitate  or  blunder  in 
your  speech. 

(c)  In  working  up  your  argument,  take  great  care,  and  be  sure 

(1)  That  your  reasoning  is  sound;  that  if  you  use 
deductive  reasoning,  your  premises  are  true  and  that 
your  conclusion  logically  follows;  that  if  you  use  in- 
ductive reasoning,  your  several  facts  are  numerous 
enough  to  make  the  conclusion  reasonably  certain;  that 
if  you  argue  from  analogy  or  example,  your  example  fits 
the  case,  and  your  analogy  has  no  weak  spots; 

(2)  That  your  assertions  are  true. 

(3)  That  circumstances  or  conditions  appealed  to  as 
proof  are  facts; 

(4)  That  authority  (opinions  of  others)  quoted  is  good 


112  ENGLISH  COMPOSITION. 

authority,  that  people  respect. 

(5)     That  testimony    (the  evidence  of  others)    is  trust- 
worthy. 

(d)  To  sum  up,  your  proof  must  rest  on  an  argument  con- 
sisting of  sound  deductions,  inductions,  and  analogies;  and  on  true 
assertions,  facts,  good  authority,  and  trustworthy  testimony. 

(e)  Bear  in  mind  that  nothing  is  more  effective  than  good 
examples  and  illustrations,  provided  they  fit  the  case  and  have  no 
weak  spots  that  your  opponent  can  attack. 

(f)  Remember  that  if  the  burden  of  proof  rests  on  your  side, 
you  must  build  up  strong  arguments.  If  it  does  not  rest  on  yoiv, 
but  if  the  presumption  is  in  your  favor  from  the  start,  all  you 
have  to  do  is  to  tear  down  your  opponents  argument. 

(g)  Finally,  you  should  prepare  yourself  on  both  sides  of  the 
question,  in  order  that  you  may  be  in  a  position  to  anticipate  and 
answer  your  opponent's  arguments. 

5.  Refutation. 

The  answering  of  an  opponent's  arguments  is  called  refutation. 
You  may  refute  by  attacking  any  one  of  the  five  points  mentioned, 
in  4,  c;     that  is, 

(1)  You  may  attacl< 

(a)  The  soundness   of  your  opponent's  reasoning, 

(b)  The  truthfulness  of  some  assertion, 

(c)  The  existence  of  some  alleged  fact, 

(d)  The  value  of  some  authority, 

(e)  The  reliability  of  some  witness. 

(2)  You  may  show. 

(a)  That  your  opponent  does  not  act  in  accordance  with 
his  own  arguments; 

(b)  That  some  of  his  statements  are  not  consistent  with 
others  that  he  has  made  in  his  argument; 

(c)  That   some   argument   followed   out   to   its   legitimate 
conclusion  reduces  to  an  absurdity. 

6.  The  debate. 

When  the  appointed  day  arrives,  judges  having  been  chosen, 
the  debate  proceeds  in  this  way: 

(a)  The  first  affirmative  8peal<er  states  the  question  and 
explains  it,  gives  a  sort  of  forecast  of  what  his  side  expects  to 
prove,  and  gives  his  arguments,  which  should  be  the  broader  and 
more  general  arguments. 


ENGUSH  COMPOSITION.  118 

(b)  The  first  negative  speaker  does  the  same  thing  for  his 
Bide  of  the  question,  and  may  also  attempt  to  refute  some  of  the 
arguments  of  the  first  speaker. 

(c)  The  second  affirmative  8peal<er  continues  the  affirmative 
argument  and  sums  it  up,  and  attempts  to  refute  the  preceding 
speaker,  and  also  to  refute  what  he  thinks  the  next  speaker  may 
say. 

(d)  The  second  negative  speaker  attempts  to  refute  his 
opponents  and  continues  and  closes  the  negative  argument. 

(e)  If  there  are  other  speakers,  they  are  then  called  upon, 
the  affirmative  and  the  negative  alternately. 

(f)  Finally,  one  leader  on  each  side  may  close  with  refutation, 
or  rebuttal,  as  it  is  sometimes  called,  of  points  made  by  the 
opposite  side,  but  he  is  not  permitted  to  introduce  any  new 
arguments.     He  must  confine  himself  to  rebuttal. 

7.    The  conduct  of  the  debate. 

In  carrying  on  the  debate,  a  debater  should — 

(a)  Be  careful  of  his  grammar; 

(b)  Avoid  needless  repetition; 

(c)  Not  use  such  expressions  as,  'Tou  have  heard  the 
question",  "My  opponent  has  stated  the  question",  and  other 
meaningless  statements; 

(d)  Not  be  formal  or  stilted,  but  talk  in  an  easy,  conversa- 
tional way; 

(e)  Not  "quibble"  over  words  or  advance  trivial  arguments; 

(f)  Not  answer  trivial  arguments; 

(g)  Sit  down  when  he  has  finished,  and  not  keep  on  after  he 
has  nothing  to  say; 

(h)     Be  courteous  to  his  opponents; 

(i)  Be  modest  and  not  too  self-assertive.  This,  together  with 
courtesy  to  one's  opponents,  wins  the  good  will  of  the  audience  and 
of  the  judges. 


Lesson  LXL 

Prepare  and  then  conduct  in  class  an  oral  debate  on  one  of  the 
following  subjects: 

(a)  Resolved,  That  boys  should  pursue  a  different  course  in 
high  school  from  that  pursued  by  girls. 


114  ENGLISH   COMPOSITION. 

(b)  Resolved,  That  our  high  school  should  adopt  the  plan  of 
a  single  daily  session  from  half  past  eight  to  one  o'clock,  with 
necessary  intermissions,  in  place  of  the  present  plan  of  two 
sessions  a  day. 

(c)  Resolved,  That  if  funds  were  available  for  only  one  of  the 
subjects,  our  high  school  should  appropriate  these  funds  for  manual 
training  rather  than  for  domestic  science. 

(d)  Resolved,  That  if  athletics  and  gymnastic  exercises  were 
to  be  supported  from  the  school  funds,  they  should  be  provided  for 
the  girls  rather  than  for  the  boys,  if  the  funds  were  insuflicient 
for  both. 

(e)  Resolved,  That  commercial  courses  are  of  more  value  to 
a  high  school  student  not  intending  to  go  to  college  than  courses 
in  foreign  language. 

(f)  Resolved,  That  half-yearly  examinations  should  be 
abolished  and  that  students  should  be  graded  on  their  daily  work, 
supplemented  by  monthly  written  "tests". 

(g)  Any  of  the  subjects  in  Lesson  LIX. 


ENGUSH  COMPOSITION.  115 


Appendix 

I.     A  SUGGESTION. 

It  is  suggested  that,  for  the  training  it  will  give  them,  the 
students  of  the  composition  classes  conduct  a  written  newspaper, 
to  be  prepared  and  read  in  the  class  once  every  two  weeks.  Let 
there  be  different  managing  and  city  editors,  reporters,  and 
miscellaneous  writers,  for  each  issue. 

Make  this  a  serious,  not  a  comic,  newspaper,  imitating  in  the 
character  of  its  contents  the  local  newspapers.  Do  not  fill  the 
the  paper  with  the  too  frequently  flat  jokes  of  school  papers,  or 
with  "hits"  on  classmates.  Your  news  will,  no  doubt,  be  largely 
imagined,  but  treat  it  seriously,  as  if  it  were  actual  news. 

Have  (1)  a  column  of  short  local  news  items;  (2)  news 
accounts  of  various  length  about  accidents,  fires,  new  buildings,  and 
the  like;  (3)  "society"  news;  (4)  obituary  notices;  (5)  mis- 
cellaneous matter  of  one  sort  or  another. 

II.     PRONUNCIATION. 

So  much  of  our  composition  in  everyday  life  is  oral,  that  it 
may  perhaps  be  well  in  closing  to  call  attention  to  the  importance 
not  only  of  well  written,  but  also  of  well  spoken  English.  Correct 
pronunciation  is  a  mark  of  education  and  refinement,  and  is  worthy 
of  studious  effort. 

We  shall  consider  only  a  few  of  the  words  or  classes  of  words 
that  are  most  frequently  mispronounced  in  school.  Some  of  the 
words  that  are  apparently  most  troublesome  to  high  school  students 
are  the  following: 

1.  Words  from  the  Latin  and  Greek. 
If  you  have  studied  Latin  with  the  Roman  pronunciation,  as 
all  Latin  students  of  the  present  day  do  study  it,  you  are  likely  to 
think  that  Latin  words,  even  when  they  are  found  in  EJnglish 
sentences,  are  to  have  this  Roman  pronunciation.  This  is  not  the 
case.  When  Latin  proper  names  or  other  Latin  words  are  read  or 
spoken  in  an  English  sentence,  the  vowels  and  all  tthe  o|ther  letters 
must  have  their  English  sounds.  The  vowel  "i"  when  long  must 
be  pronounced  "eye"  not  "ee",  and  so  on,  except  that  "final  "e"  is 
not  silent  but  pronounced  like  our  final  "y"  in  happy".  Note  the 
following: 

Niobe  pronounced  Nigh-o-by,  not  Nee-oby 

Cleopatra  first  "a"  is  long;  "pate",  not  "pat" 

Diana  first  "a"  is  long;  "ane",  not  "ann" 


116 


ENGLISH  COMPOSITION. 


alma  mater  "a"  In  "mater"  is  long;  "mate"  not  "mat" 

data  "date-a",  not  "datta";  long  "a" 

Bearing  these  points  in  mind,  now  pronounce: 


Clio 

Via  Sacra 

Melpomene 

Divitiacus 

Via  Crucis 

Thalia 

Catallna 

Zama 

La-oc-o-on 

Aeneas 

Zela 

pater  familias 

Horatius 

Athena 

penates 

Eretria 

Aphrodite 

strata 

Janus 

Calliope 

status 

Ltucania 

Ceres 

prima  facie 

Macenas 

Hebe 

gratis 

Messenia 

lo 

ultimatum 

Paros 

Lethe 

casus  belli 

Samos 

Liber 

anti 

Scipio 

Midas 

finis 

2.     Words  of  Common  Use  In  School. 
Be   careful   in   the   pronunciation   of   the   following   words.    In 
most    cases    only   the    troublesome    part   of    the    pronunciation    is 
indicated,  not  the  complete  pronunciation  of  the  word. 

accept  ax,  not  "ex" 

address  Both  noun  and  verb  accented  on  last  syllable. 

algebra  Sound  final  "a"  like  "a"  in  "comma",  not  "bry". 

alternate  al,  not  "all";  noun  and  adj.  accented  on  second 

syllable,  verb  on  first. 

alternately  al,  not  "all";  accent  on  second  syllable. 

alternative  al,  not  "all";  accent  on  second  syllable. 

alternation  al,  not  "all";  accent  on  third  syllable. 

alumni  nigh,  not  "nee". 

amateur  tyoor,  or  turr,  not  "choor";  accent  allowed  on 

either  first  or  last  syllable. 

apparatus  rate,  not  "rat";  long  "a". 

applicable  Accent  first  syllable. 

arithmetic  Do  not  omit  the  "a";  not  "rithmetic". 

architecture  ark,  not  "artch". 

athlete  Only  two  syllables;  not  "ath-uh-lete". 

athletics  Only  three  syllables;   not  "ath-uh-letics". 

auxiliary  aux-il-i-ary,  or  auxil-yary;  not  "aux-illary". 

biography,  biographical     "bye",  long  "i". 

botany  bot-a-ny,  not  "botny". 

bouquet  boo,  not  "bo" 

candidate  cand,  not  "can-idate";  sound  the  "d" 

ehildren  dren,  not  "dem" 

chronological        kron,  not  "krone";  short  "o" 


ENGLISH  COMPOSITION. 


117 


chronology  kro,  not  "kron";  long  "o" 

column  collum,  not  "col-yum" 

considerable  der-able,  not  "derble";  do  not  omit  the  "a" 

courteous  curt,  not  "cort" 

deaf  deff,  though  some  authority  for  "deef" 

designate  dess,  not  "dez" 

designation  dess,  not  "dez" 

difference  fer-ence,  not  "frence"  or  '•femce" 

equation  shun,  better  than  "zhun" 

excursion  shim,  not  "zhun" 

experiment  pare,  not  "peer" 

exponent  Accent  on  second  syllable. 

extra  "a"  as  in  "comma",  not  "extry" 

favorite  It,  not  "ite";  short  "i" 

February  ru-ary,  not  "yu-ary" 

figure  flg-yure,  not  "fig-ger" 

genuine  in,  not  "ine";  short  "i" 

geography  je-og,  not  "jog" 

geometry  ge-om,  not  "jom" 

government.  goveru-ment,  not  "gover-ment";  sound  the  "n" 

history  his-to-ry,  not  "histry" 

hundred  dred,  not  "derd" 

ignition  "nish";  short  "i"  in  second  syllable. 

inquiry  inquire-y;  accent  on  "quire";  long  "i" 

integral  Accent  on  "in" 

interested,  interesting  in-ter-est-ed  or  ing,  not  "trested"  or 
"tresting";  accent  on  "in",  and  "est"  pro- 
nounced lightly. 

introduce  intro-duce,  not  "inter" 

Italian  it,  not  "ight";  short  "i" 

kept  in  Sound  the  "t",  not  "kep  in". 

laboratory  lab-o-ra-to-ry,  not  "labratory";  sound  first  "o" 
lightly. 

I^tin  tin,  not  "tun" 

length  Sound  the  "g",  not  "lenth' 

literature  tyure,  nearly  chure,  not  "toor" 

manual  training    man-u-al,  not  "man-yule" 

measure  mezh,  not  "mazhe";  short  "e"  not  long  "a" 

memory  mem-o-ry,  not  "mem-ry" 

mischievous  mis-chi-vus,  accent  on  first  syllable,  not 
"mischee-vi-us" 

miserable  miz-er-able,  not  "miz-er-ble" 

nominative  nom-i-native,  not  "nom-native" 

object  ject,  not  "jict" 

obligatory  Accent  the  "ob" 


118 


ENGLISH  COMPOSITION. 


ordinary  ord-i-nary,  not  "ord-nary" 

parentheses  "seez";     distinguish     from     "parenthe-sls,     of 

which  it  Is  the  plural, 

participle  part-i-ciple,  not  "part-ciple" 

perform  per,  not  "pre" 

physiology  zl-ol,  not  "zol" 

physiography  zl-og,  not  "zog" 

piano  Short  "1",  not  "ple-ano". 

pianist  Short  "1",  not  "pie-anist;  accent  on  "an" 

preliminary  pree-liminary,  not  "puh-liminary" ;  accent  "11m" 

presentation  prez,  not  "preez" 

pronunciation  nun-cl-atlon  or  nun-shl-atlon,  not  "nounce-iatlon" 

program  gram,  not  "grum" 

radiator  rade,  not  "rad";  long  "a" 

recess  Accent  on  "cess",  last  syllable, 

recitation  res-i-ta-shun,  not  "res-tashun" 

recognize  rek-og-nize,  not  "rek-kon-nize";  sound  "g" 

regular  reg-yu-lar,  not  "reg-lar" 

relay  race  Accent  on  "lay",  last  syllable,  not  on  "re" 

rhetoric  ret-o-rick,  not  "ret-rick" 

route  root  or  rowt,  former  probably  preferable,  but 

latter  allowable  and  more  common, 

sewing  so-ing,  not  "soo-lng" 

singular  slng-yu-lar,  not  "sing-lar" 

superintendent  super-in-tendent,  not  "supern-tendent" 

zoology  zoh-ology,  not  "zoo-ology" 


X-SoSlH 


3^ 


